Mennonite health-care plan sets January launch: The Corinthian Plan

With “a flood of enrollments and inquiries” in late September, a mutual aid health-care project in the Mennonite Church USA is expected to start on January 1. The so-called Corinthian Plan expects to provide health insurance for nearly 70 percent of eligible pastors who have lacked medical coverage.

More than 450 congregations expected to lend assistance to pastors of smaller congregations will generate more than $500,000 for the project’s Fair Balance Fund, said project director Keith Harder. He said in an October announcement that the assistance will go to more than 50 congregations and their pastors.

The plan’s name refers to 2 Corinthians 8:14 in which Paul urges that the abundance of some should be used to meet the needs of others. The project was described in the September 22 Century.

As of October 1, more than 250 Mennonite congregations had not yet decided whether to participate. The deadline to join was extended to November 15.

The original goal of 80 percent of all congregations will be unmet, but Dave Gautsche, MMA representative on the project team, said, “We believe that we have adequate participation to create a strong and viable plan.”