LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1992, Page 167

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7. Human Care
!

To Change Name of Board for Social
/ Ministry Services '
RESOLUTION 7-01 :

Report R7-01 (CW, pp. 137-42), Overture 7401 (cw,
p. 283)

Wuenreas, The Board for Social Ministry Services of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is concerned with the
spiritual, emotional, and physical, as well as the social
needs and problems of people; and .

Wuereas, To better describe the inclusive nature of the
functions of this board; therefore be it

Resolved, That the name of the Board for Social Min-
istry Services of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
be changed to the Board for Human Care Ministries.

Action: Adopted (3).

To Continue Concordia Health Plan
Study and Encourage
' Congregational Assistance to Workers
in Meeting Health Costs

RESOLUTION 7-02

Overtures 7-16A-C, 7-20-22B, 7-25, 7-27 (CW, pp. 287—
89)

Preamble:

The rising cost of health care throughout the United
States has been a major problem for all health plans, emn-
ployers, and individuals. Medical care prices continue to
rise at a much greater rate than the general inflation rate.
The reasons behind these soaring prices include overube
of services, overexpansion of hospitals, technological ad-
vances involving expensive equipment, lack of competition,
malpractice insurance costs, and unnecessary medical pro
cedures. Some of these factors are controllable by the in-
dividual, e.g., law suits, duplicate charges, failure to
compare costs, unhealthy lifestyles.

The Concordia Health Plan was specifically designed
and established for workers of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod. No insurance company is involved; the
plan is funded by the participating employers and mem-
bers and is administered “in house” at the Synod’s Worker
Benefit Plans office. The contribution rates, established by
the Board of Managers (who are appointed by the Board
of Directors of the Synod to oversee the administration of
the Plan), simply reflect the benefits paid and adminis-
trative costs. No profit is involved as would be true for dn
insurance company!

The Board of Managers uses an outside health care con-
sulting firm to review the “experience” of the Concordia
Health Plan each year to determine whether the estimated
contributions for the coming year will cover the estimated
benefits and administrative costs. Additionally, the Board
of Managers utilizes outside resources to review the overall
health plan program to determine its ability to meet the
needs of the members.

Committee 7 Chalrman John M. Petersen

1
'

In an effort to contain costs while providing quality
health care, the Board of Managers has implemented var-
ious measures over the past years:

oA Hospital Preadmission Certification Program is used

t to help members consider alternate forms of treatment
| (other than a hospital stay) and minimize the length of

a hospital stay.

* Large hospital bills are audited to eliminate erroneous

' : charges.
+, A “Case Management Program,” for those situations of
_ very large, catastrophic illnesses, helps the member
» make sure that the highest quality and most appropriate,
: cost-effective care is provided.

* Coverage for “preventive care” was added in the hope

, that money will be saved by early detection and treat-
| ment of illness. .

* A mail order service for purchase of long-term prescrip-
tion drugs was implemented in order to capture the sav-
,ings possible through purchasing at wholesale costs

+ versus retail costs.
+'Managed mental health/substance abuse care is pro-

, vided through a specified network of providers to assure
" that appropriate, quality treatment is provided in a cost-

' effective manner.

*' The Plan maintains an administrative cost of one-half

, the other health care providers.

’ By Board of Managers’ direction the staff has met and
is meeting with representatives from the health plans of
other major church bodies to discuss ways that, as a group,
the church plans could use combined purchasing power to
develop managed care programs, hospital bill audits, and

167