CLERGY: Health Insurance Enrollment Announcement

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL CLERGY

Please read the entirety of this important announcement regarding clergy health insurance enrollment, and share it widely with others. 

This announcement is for local churches and clergy who will be fully disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church on or before January 1, 2023. Eligible Global Methodist Church clergy must have received an appointment to a Global Methodist local church or an approved extension ministry on or before January 1, 2023, in order to enroll in the GM Church HealthFlex Insurance Plan in January. If this does not affect you personally, please help to spread the word.

Late-year disaffiliations have played havoc with efforts to enroll clergy in the GM Church’s 2023 HealthFlex Insurance Plan. Clergy, if you have not received an email invitation to enroll online, it probably means your eligibility to enroll online has not worked its way through the enrollment system.

Here are some important things full-time clergy should know:

1. You still have time to enroll (see below).

2. GM Church HealthFlex Insurance is MANDATORY. However, four exceptions are allowed. If you have existing health insurance from:

   1. A former employer;

   2. Through a spouse’s employer;

   3. One of the branches of the U.S. military (e.g., TriCare); or,

   4. Medicare or Medicaid.

3. Coverage is AUTOMATIC unless you submit a waiver form. You cannot simply opt-out by declining to enroll; you much complete the HealthFlex Mandatory Premium and Coverage Waiver Form.

4. If, as a current HealthFlex participant, you completed your 2023 enrollment elections online through Benefits Access, those were UM Church HealthFlex elections. They will be deleted when your UM annual conference membership is terminated. You will need to enroll again in the GM Church’s HealthFlex Insurance Plan.

5. Clergy who were invited to enroll online through BenefitSolver and completed that process before November 18 do not need to do anything else.

Here is the enrollment procedure for November 18 – December 31, 2022:

1. Choose your plans by utilizing the online health plans counselor ALEX.

2. Do not simply choose what you have used before because the GM Church premium rates are different than your previous rates.

3. Download and complete the HealthFlex New Enrollment or Change Form.

4. Scan and email the completed form to the Rev. Rick Van Giesen, GM Church Benefits Officer at rvangiesen@globalmethodist.org.

5. Input only the last five digits of Social Security number. Do not expose all the digits of your Social Security Number on the Internet.

Here is the enrollment procedure for January 2 – 30, 2023:

1. If you have NOT enrolled using the enrollment form method above, then choose your plans by utilizing the online health plans counselor ALEX.

2. You will be able to enroll online from January 2 – 30, 2023, with an effective date of January 1, 2023.

3. If you have questions, please email the Rev. Rick Van Giesen, GM Church Benefits Officer at rvangiesen@globalmethodist.org.

Thank you,

Rev. Rick Van Giesen
Global Methodist Church Benefits Officer