By Roy Hayhurst
Baptist Press
DALLAS — With many churches reporting strained budgets due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, GuideStone is offering a one-time opportunity for both Group Plans and Personal Plans to step down to a lower-cost health care plan for the remainder of 2020.
Generally the option to change plans is available only during re-enrollment.
“We understand that we live in a very different economic reality than we did when most churches made their health plan elections for 2020,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. “This one-time step down opportunity may be able to help churches and ministries find some much-needed breathing room in their budget.”
The one-time change option, the health plan relief initiative, is available beginning today (April 1).
Churches can elect to move from a standard PPO plan to an HSA-qualified High Deductible Health Plan or even to GuideStone’s lowest-cost option, Secure Health 3000. Visit GuideStone.org/coronavirus/insurance for information on eligible plans. Churches and ministries who change plans as part of this one-time step down will be able to change plans again at re-enrollment for 2021.
Churches must legally provide staff with 60 days’ notice of a change. GuideStone will provide churches that make a change with all the needed notifications to make the process as seamless as possible. B&R
