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VOL. 13, NO. 11

Melissa Lauber/UMConnection

The Rev. William Caraballo-Lopez Jr. was recently named Hispanic Coordinator for the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Caraballo-Lopez has served since 1991 as pastor of the Iglesia Metodista Unida Emanuel, in Harrisburg, Pa., in the Central Pennsylvania Conference. He is also a consultant to the denominations National Plan on Hispanic Ministries.

As the Hispanic coordinator, Caraballo-Lopez will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies to form faith communities among Hispanic populations. He will be working, in large part, with non-Hispanic churches interested in starting Latino ministries in their communities.

In addition to being a pastor, Caraballo-Lopez has worked as a chaplain in the Army National Guard, a child and adolescent therapist and a crisis counselor.

Conference continues adjustments in long-term insurance plan

BY CIONA ROUSE UMCONNECTION STAFF

About 10 percent of conference clergy and lay employees enrolled in the CIGNA health care plan have also applied for participant-paid medical coverage through Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance.

Transamerica received about 150 applications from conference clergy and employees for its long-term care medical insurance. Ten percent of the applicants were denied coverage due to health conditions reported from their medical providers, said the conferences broker Bud Stidham.

Transamerica guaranteed enrollment to all active clergy and lay employees who applied during the open enrollment period that ended Dec. 14.

Retired clergy and dependents of all clergy or lay employees were not guaranteed coverage during the open enrollment period and had to have their medical backgrounds checked before being accepted. Active clergy and lay employees applying after the enrollment period were also subject to background checks.

We knew there would be denials based on medical conditions, but we also knew that Bud Stidham, our broker, would find reputable alternative coverage, said Carole Chaloner Silberhorn, conference director of pensions and health benefits.

While Stidham is helping some receive coverage elsewhere, the premium rates are often higher and the benefits are not as great as what Transamerica offers, said the Rev. Daniel Wright, interim chair of the conference board of pension and health benefits.

In about three situations, Stidham was unable to find coverage anywhere.

Wright said the reality of medical insurance is that certain health conditions are often denied. He knows this well as a minister who spent 30 years in the insurance business and whose family was affected by the medical background check when applying for Transamerica. Wright said a common denial for the conference was associated with people who had elevated blood pressure or diabetes.

He hopes people will not be discouraged from applying because of Transamerica denials. Each situation is different, Wright said. People should apply if they havent already.

The Transamerica plan, which was introduced in November last year, includes coverage for a person whose health is not expected to improve. Such coverage was included in previous conference group coverage with New England Financial, but is no longer available since the conference switched to CIGNA at the beginning of the year.

The Baltimore-Washington conference is one of the few conferences churchwide to assist clergy and lay employees in finding insurance for those needing long-term nursing care, according to Silberhorn.

CIGNA covers nursing care in a rehabilitative situation if a person is expected to recover and go home at some point. Coverage for long-term care, which is provided in the Transamerica option, includes assisted living and adult day care programs.

Silberhorn said Transamerica offered the best plans for the conference because they had competitive rates, flexible benefits and a wide range of options in three basic plans.

Costs vary within each of the three plans. The rate sheet for the conferences plans quotes monthly premiums as low as $9.54 and as high as $654.48. This range explains rates for people between 18 and 75 years of age. According to Silberhorn, rates increase with age and people older than 75 will probably pay more.

The plans also include a spousal discount, so rates vary according to marital status as well.

The eight conference members in nursing homes prior to Jan. 1, when the conference began CIGNA coverage, did not have an interruption in their plans, according to Wright. For these people, CIGNA continued providing the same coverage rates as New England Financial did.

People interested in Transamerica insurance coverage can enroll at anytime. Guaranteed coverage for active clergy and lay employees, however, is available only through open enrollment. Silberhorn said the board is planning another open enrollment period next year.

Detailed rate sheets are available at the conference center from the board of pension and health benefits staff.