Calculating the GMC Health Insurance Bill for my Church

The Global Methodist denomination has partnered with Wespath for health insurance benefits for pastors. It’s called HealthFlex…same plans offered to the United Methodist. There is a recorded webinar to learn more about it linked below. Although this sounds simple, it’s not, and there are some important changes.

• One Billing Method: In the United Methodist system, each conference had their own way of billing. That’s roughly fifty different ways of billing out this benefit. In the Global Methodist denomination, there is one system for all churches in the US. If you have a pastor on Family coverage, your annual bill is $26,220. If you have a pastor on Employee +1 coverage, your annual bill is $19,164. If you have a pastor on Single coverage, your annual bill is $10,092.
  Note: If your pastor is able to opt out (Tricare, Medicare, covered by spouse), the church will not be billed.)
• Pastor’s Share: While the church amount is standard, the pastor’s share of the health insurance depends on which plan they elect. In the 2023 rates linked below, you can look up this amount (middle column) which should be withheld from their salary before tax. An example is if the pastor is on Family coverage and elects the C2000 plan, the church should withhold $385 from the pastor’s paycheck each month.
• Enrollment: This year will be tricky. The GMC plan is launching January 1, 2023. Open enrollment for HealthFlex ended November 17, 2022. That’s a problem. Not to mention that many churches are officially becoming GMC on December 1 or January 1. There’s a letter below from Rick to guide you in enrolling, but, long story short, you will likely have to print out a form and manually complete it.

In the video, I discuss more about where the amounts come from. I encourage you to connect with Rick Van Giesen (Benefits Officer) if you are confused or need help. He’s a great guy and very helpful.

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Useful Links

• Email Benefits Officer: Rick Van Giesen
• Letter from Rick on Enrollment: https://jctaccounting.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/gmc_health_enrollment.pdf
• Recorded Webinar on HealthFlex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av9x17vg0Qs
• FAQ from the GMC: https://globalmethodist.org/faqs/#1653420860221-cf1de599-8c5a
• Alex tool for choosing a plan: https://www.myalex.com/healthflex/2023/gmc#intro
• 2023 Rates: https://globalmethodist.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/HealthFlex-Premiums57.pdf
• 2023 HealthFlex Plan Comparisons: https://www.wespath.org/Assets/1/7/5258B.pdf