The Conference has long provided a best-in-class health insurance plan to our active participants. The world of health care has continued to see increasing costs, yet our plan has remained unchanged for years.
However, we continue to experience losses in our health insurance program, necessitating adjustments to the plan. On September 11, 2025, the Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits (CBOPHB) decided to change the active Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) plan in a few ways.
- While we increased premium rates by 10% in 2025 and hoped not to raise them in 2026, the losses we continue to experience necessitate a 5% increase in premium rates in 2026. This will result in a premium of $23,208 for churches in 2026 and a waiver fee of $2,328. Additionally, personal contributions for clergy will also increase. Please refer to the 2026 Rate Chart on the Forms site for those rates.
- Currently, our BCBS plan has a 10% coinsurance rate. That rate will increase to 20%. This means that once a participant’s deductible is met, they will pay $2,000 of the next $10,000 in claims. The plan has a cap of $4,000 per family.
- The co-pay for an emergency room visit will increase from $200 to $300.
Finally, there is one more change to the medical plan that will not take effect in 2026 but was approved for 2027 and 2028, which is an increase in the deductible. Currently, the deductible is $500 per individual with a family cap of $1,000. Starting in 2027, it will change to $750 per individual and $1,500 for families, and in 2028, it will increase to $1,000 per individual and $2,000 for families.
We will also be adjusting the Canadian Drug program to exclude all over-the-counter medications and will be increasing the copay on specialty medications only to $50 for a three-month supply.
The CBOPHB made this decision fully aware that these changes, aside from the premium increase, only affect our clergy families’ pocketbooks. However, we made these changes because of the losses we are seeing and because even with these adjustments, we’re still providing very good coverage to our participants, as deductibles are well over $1,000 on average nationwide and even in our region, and 10% co-insurance rates are nearly unheard of.
The CBOPHB did not make these decisions lightly, but the CBOPHB has a duty to have a sustainable program and to provide excellent benefits to our clergy and their families. The CBOPHB believes that the active plan remains excellent despite these changes and that it will help address some of the losses we’ve experienced, ensuring the plan’s sustainability. If you have questions, please reach out to the Benefits Office at any time.
Last Updated on October 2, 2025