New Optional Health Care Plan Available

All members of the Virginia Conference now have access to quality health care. This program is available to more than 340,000 persons regardless of whether they are employed by the church or not.

  This new insurance offering came about as a result of action taken by the 2004 Annual Conference, which directed the Virginia United Methodist Pensions, Inc., (VUMPI) to work jointly with the Virginia United Methodist Credit Union, Inc., to develop a voluntary benefits offering that would be managed and administered by the Virginia United Methodist Credit Union.

  The Credit Union’s new insurance offering is available to lay and clergy members of the Virginia Conference, regardless of employment status. This portfolio is a 100 percent individual-paid insurance offering. It includes traditional PPO and HMO coverage, along with tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs. The Credit Union was also able to obtain a portfolio of group employee benefits. As a result, lay members who are responsible for providing employee benefits to their own employees may be interested in obtaining their group health insurance through the Credit Union. The group insurance portfolio includes companion dental and vision plans for those employers looking for traditional employee benefit packages.

  The program includes two stipulations for participation —

  This new health insurance offering does not replace or compete with the existing health plans available through the conference pensions and benefits office, or VUMPI. Instead, it actually expands the total insurance portfolio made available to our collective membership by the Virginia Conference.

  VUMPI’s health and pension plans continue to be available only to those clergy and lay employees employed by a church, agency or institution within the Virginia Conference under strict employer-employee guidelines. For more information about these and other employer-sponsored plans, contact Nancy Blair, Conference Health Plan Administrator, at 1-800-768-6040, ext. 130, or e-mail NancyBlair@vaumc.org.