The Power of Coalition Purchasing

Rooted in the rich, Presbyterian history of caring for ministers and their families, The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) serves 65,000 individuals from PC(USA) congregations, agencies, mid councils, and affiliated employers through the Benefits Plan of the PC(USA). The benefits offerings include Health and Wellness Plans; Retirement Plans; Death, Disability & Life Plans; and more.

The Board develops our plans to include high-value features, and the benefits design process is both an art and a science. While gathering and analyzing data remains a key component of the process, using sound judgment and leaning on experience is equally important. At the Board of Pensions, we are tasked with examining the healthcare market, making informed decisions, and selecting the products that will bring our members the most value. We do this while maintaining low administrative costs and underwriting benefits at zero profit, ensuring that every resource is maximized. Together, we build a medical plan that honors our commitment to stewardship and sustainability, reinforcing our dedication to the well-being of our members.

Because the Board must also be able to deliver our medical benefits across a national footprint to a dispersed population of members and employers, we work with business partners such as Highmark, Express Scripts, and Quantum. Each partner brings specific expertise and capabilities to bear which the Board could not replicate on our own. This is where coalition purchasing comes into play.

The Church Benefits Association (CBA) is made up of approximately 50 denominational benefit plans, many of which also offer healthcare coverage and have similar needs and challenges. Where possible, we have created purchasing coalitions to leverage our combined scale to the benefit of all coalition plans. This scale allows each coalition to negotiate more advantageous pricing for services and garner more influence to the benefit of their respective members. The Board participates in several coalitions for different types of benefits, including medical benefits, pharmaceutical benefits, and more, and is recognized as a leader in the CBA coalition space.

To give an idea of the impact of coalition purchasing, the Board of Pensions provides coverage for approximately 24,000 lives under its active medical plan. While that may sound like a lot of lives, the CBA purchasing coalitions can include as many as 250,000 lives. That scale makes the coalition a much more attractive group when bidding services from prospective business partners and renders the coalition more influential throughout the life of the contract.

Once a coalition business partner is selected, it’s important to note that each denominational plan retains their own unique plan design and signs their own contract with the partner. This allows each organization to further negotiate denominational-specific nuances while maintaining the negotiated coalition level provisions around pricing and services. For example, the Board focuses on performance guarantees with financial penalties that hold all business partners accountable to its expected standards.

And our work doesn’t end after a contract is signed. The Board actively works throughout a contract’s lifespan to ensure business partners are meeting or exceeding expectations. We view our partners as extensions of the Board, and they are held accountable to our expectations and standards. This work includes regular account management meetings and calls, intervention and interpretation where necessary, and annual financial and operational audits.

The Board of Pensions remains committed to providing a comprehensive benefits plan that allows members to live life abundantly. Learn more about the Board’s benefits offerings.