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BY MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION STAFF

'Caring for people who care for others' are the bywords of the members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Board of Pensions and Health Benefits as they prepare to switch to HealthFlex, a denominationwide medical insurance plan.

The change from CIGNA to HealthFlex and United Health Care, which was unveiled at the May session of annual conference, will take effect in January. Informational sessions are planned at four locations throughout the conference in early October.

Conference officials are confident that this switch from a self-insured plan to a fully insured one is a measure of good stewardship that will bring about savings in human and financial resources and allow the conference staff to more effectively serve local churches in their mission to make disciples.

'I?m confident that we?re getting the best possible care for the lowest possible price,' said the Rev. Wayne DeHart, conference director of Human Resources and Connectional Ministries.

However, DeHart cautions, this change to HealthFlex will not mean a decrease in the cost of health care coverage. In fact, while the exact figures will not be finalized until September, an increase of between 15 and 20 percent is being anticipated for some groups of participants.

This increase, said Martha Knight, director of the conference Office of Finance and Administration, is a result of the rise in medical costs throughout the nation and the removal of heavy subsidies from conference reserves to hold health care costs down. 'The rising cost of health care coverage is a reality,' she said.

Also, the conference has expended much of its reserves and does not have the money to subsidize health care costs unless it apportioned the congregations several million dollars, Knight said.

It was decided that apportioning congregations for subsidizing health care rates would not be in the best long term interests of our congregations. Therefore, over the next couple of years, the full costs will be passed on to pastors and local churches.

Knight and DeHart are both adamant that this increase in cost would also have occurred even if the conference would have continued with CIGNA. However, the new HealthFlex plan, which uses United Health Care providers, does offer several positive changes for participants.

Among them:

?The co-pay required for an emergency room visit will drop from $200 to $50.

?The out-of-network coverage is better, with participants paying 50 percent, rather than 60 percent, of the bill.

?HealthFlex offers more customer service, with a seven-member HealthFlex team staffing a toll-free telephone hotline to assist participants with their questions.

?Retirees will benefit from reduced deductibles and better prescription drug coverage.

?Maintenance prescriptions (medicine taken on a regular basis) will need to be purchased via mail-order.

?HealthFlex has agreed to work with conference leaders to ensure that the network of providers is broad enough to effectively serve more rural areas of the conference.

Knight believes that going with the United Methodist plan provides participants with the advantage of an insurer that understands their unique needs.

Clergy people and their families often have specific needs, she said, pointing out that those insured by the conference are substantially older, on average, than the norms for employer insured populations. Approximately

75 percent of BWC participants are age 40 and over. The national norm for the current insurer is 44 percent over age 40. Ages 40 and older are known as chronic risk years.

In addition, Knight said, 'The conference?s use of drug benefits is now equal to twice the national average for our insurer.'

Pastors are also so often busy caring for others that they forget to care for themselves, said DeHart. The new HealthFlex plan will provide an online health risk assessment to help participants identify problems before they get expensive.

The conference is considering offering a cash rebate to people who participate in this assessment.

At the October sessions, participants will be given instructions on how they can enroll in the new coverage. For those making no changes in their plans, registration will not be required.

The information sessions will be held Oct. 4 at Towson UMC, Oct. 5 at Washington Square UMC in Hagerstown, Oct. 6 at Severna Park UMC, and Oct. 7 at the conference center in Columbia.