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September 16, 2026
Beloved leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts --
Each year in September, our diocesan Human Resources staff send information to clergy, wardens, and treasurers about health insurance renewals for the coming year. This year I am writing to you directly regarding some significant changes in the health insurance landscape for the wider Episcopal Church and for our diocese.
First, some basic information: The Episcopal Church requires all dioceses – and the congregations therein – to participate in the Church Medical Trust, administered by the Church Pension Group. This aggregates our buying power and spreads our risk pool across a much larger number of people than any one diocese could ever achieve alone. Premium pricing, coverage decisions, provider networks, co-pays, and other plan features are all negotiated by the Medical Trust at the church-wide level. Each diocese receives non-negotiable plan options and pricing for the coming calendar year from the Medical Trust in early fall.
Over the past several years, annual premium increases from the Medical Trust for our diocese have been averaging around 5% -- consistently beating national and regional average rate increases for comparable employers and public plans.
This year, however, the Medical Trust has informed us that the premium increase for each congregation in our diocese will be 10.5%. Additionally, there will be modest rises in co-pays and annual maximums for all plans. Our Diocesan Compensation and Benefits Committee indicates that these regrettable changes are squarely in-line with national averages across comparable employers and are in fact lower than several other dioceses in the Episcopal Church.
In concern for the impact of this increase upon our congregations, last weekend I asked Diocesan Council to consider funding health insurance premium assistance for every congregation in our diocese. After a detailed report from our Compensation and Benefits Committee and significant discussion, Diocesan Council voted unanimously to approve a one-time expense of up to $280,000 to help offset the premium cost of 2027 health insurance for our congregations. With this diocesan-provided offset, each congregation should experience a 5.25%, rather than 10.5%, increase in 2027. This constitutes a 50% reduction in your premium rate increase for 2027.
I wish to be very clear: this is a one-time offset. It will only delay, not eliminate, substantial rate increases anticipated in the future. Our benefits consultants tell us that all employers should be budgeting for at least a 10% increase in future years. Given the one-time relief that we are providing for 2027, that increase will likely be even greater in 2028.
Council and I hope this additional year of grace gives our congregations time to plan and budget for future increases. It also gives us time to hold the necessary, and perhaps difficult, conversations to develop diocesan-wide strategies for addressing the extraordinary cost of health care and health insurance in this country, while maintaining our commitment to provide meaningful benefits for employees and their dependents.
I hope you will join me in thanking our Diocesan Council for their thoughtfulness and responsiveness to this congregational budget need so quickly. This is a tangible sign of our commitment to strengthen congregations in every way possible.
Faithfully,
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