CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The health plan for nearly 16,000 pastors and lay employees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is based on a principle of "sharing" that may or may not be served by the plan's current rate structure. John G. Kapanke, president of the ELCA Board of Pensions, Minneapolis, told the ELCA Church Council the board wants to bring the plan's rates in line with its principles.
The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here April 9-12. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is August 16-22 in Denver.
With $4.8 billion under management, the nonprofit Board of Pensions provides pension, health and other benefits for the ELCA's clergy, lay employees and their families.
Congregations and other units of the ELCA contribute to the benefit coverage according to a percentage of their sponsored members' salaries. The perception has been that congregations with larger budgets are "subsidizing" the plans of those serving congregations with smaller budgets, said Kapanke.
The cost of health care in an area may be more of a factor in determining who subsidized who than the size of a congregation's budget, when the principle of "sharing" is practiced, Kapanke said. All congregations pay the same health benefit rates, whether or not they reside in areas where medical costs are low or high.
Sometimes that means small congregations in low-cost areas are subsidizing large congregations in high-cost areas, said Kapanke. He called that an "unintended result" and said the Board of Pensions is studying whether a "geographic pricing structure" would be more fair and competitive.
It's important also that the ELCA health plan be fair and competitive while addressing issues of cost-sharing, Kapanke explained.
Kapanke reported to the council on meetings Board of Pensions representatives had with the ELCA's 65 synod bishops. He called this a "very valuable process" for both the Board and the bishops.
The bishops affirmed the board in its work to "strengthen one another in mission," said Kapanke. They supported strongly the principle of interdependence, saying synods and congregations must look beyond themselves and look to what's good for this church as a whole.
Bishops understand the significance of the issues confronting the Board of Pensions, Kapanke said, and that to address these issues some change may be necessary.
Kapanke said later the principle of sharing is articulated in the ELCA's Constitution: "This church shall seek to function as people of God through congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization, all of which shall be interdependent. Each part, while fully the church, recognizes that it is not the whole church and therefore lives in a partnership relationship with the others."
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
