2027 Portico Health Care Gap Grants

In August, Portico Benefits Services announced that health benefits costs will increase by 15% in 2027. This increase is significant and it comes amid a much larger rise in healthcare costs across the country. Here in Pennsylvania, insurers have requested average increases of up to 17.1% for 2027. Portico is facing an increasingly difficult healthcare environment while continuing to provide meaningful health benefits and access to care for the people and ministries it serves.

Knowing that this increase will create unexpected financial strain for some of our congregations and related ministries, our synod council has established a one-time grant to bridge up to 50% of the Portico health care increase in 2027. The Portico Health Care Gap Grant is not a long-term solution—without significant national change in the healthcare system, costs are unlikely to return to where they were before this increase—but it can help congregations weather the surprise of this year's increase and give them room to thoughtfully plan for the future.

The Portico Health Care Gap Grant is available for sponsoring organizations, with two options to choose what will be most beneficial depending on the organization's current number of sponsored plan members: 1) Concentrated Impact Option 2) Distributed Impact Option. See granting process for more details.

Sponsoring organizations and sponsored plan members are defined as:
  • Sponsoring Organization: An ELCA congregation, camp, campus ministry, or social ministry organization in the territory of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod that uses Portico as the health benefits manager.

  • Sponsored Plan Members: A rostered minister or employee whose Portico health care coverage is provided by the sponsoring organization. Family members covered under the plan are not counted as additional sponsored plan members.

Granting Process

Applications are open October 1-31, 2026, and will be awarded on a rolling basis. A sponsoring organization may apply for one of the following grants:


1. Concentrated Impact Option:

Best for organizations with significant increases concentrated among one or two sponsored plan members.

Sponsoring organizations can receive grant funding toward 50% of the total increase in Portico health care costs, not to exceed $4,000 total for the organization. For example, a sponsored plan member with family coverage may have a larger increase than a member with individual coverage, making the $4,000 organizational maximum more beneficial.

 

2. Distributed Impact Option:

Best for organizations with significant increases spread across multiple sponsored plan members.

Sponsoring organizations can receive grant funding toward 50% of the increase in Portico health care costs for each sponsored plan member, not to exceed $2,000 per plan member. For example, an organization with four sponsored plan members may have increases across all four plans, making the $2,000-per-member maximum more beneficial.

Granting Eligibility

Grantees must:

  1. Be a Portico sponsoring organization.

  2. Commit to compensating rostered ministers at the level of the 2027 guidelines as adopted by Synod Assembly. (See: swpasynod.org/pastors or swpasynod.org/deacons) There are some exceptions and there is an opportunity to explain this in the application.

  3. Commit to continue the 2026 Portico health benefit plan levels into 2027. For example, an organization is not eligible if dropping to a less expensive plan with a higher deductible for the employee. However, there are some exceptions (for example, if family structure has changed, children have aged out of the plan, the sponsored plan member or a spouse has joined Medicare, divorce, death of a family member, etc.) and there is an opportunity to explain this in the application.

  4. Commit to engaging in at least one synod stewardship resource or program, and discuss a plan of sustainability with synod staff or members of the synod stewardship team.

  5. Have the support of your congregation council or board of directors.

Application

Before applying, have the following information accessible:

  1. Names of All Sponsored Plan Members

  2. 2026 & 2027 Defined Compensation of All Sponsored Plan Members

  3. 2026 & 2027 Benefits Level of All Sponsored Plan Members

  4. 2026 & 2027 Benefits Cost of All Sponsored Plan Members (not to include disability, life insurance, pension, salary or housing)

  5. 2026 Mission Support Pledge or Projected Amount (if your ministry site is a congregation)

  6. Currently Used Stewardship Programs or Resources (if your ministry site is a congregation)

  7. Email Address and Phone Number for Your Organization's Pastor(s), President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer

Applications will be available here October 1-31, 2026

 
 

For questions about the 2027 Portico Health Care Gap Grant or your application, contact Pastor Peter Asplin at peter.asplin@swpasynod.org or 412-453-6487.

This financial support was made possible by planned giving.
Our synod recently received several bequests from members of our synod who faithfully supported our ministry in their estate plans. Some came from individuals, another came from a congregation who chose to tithe the bequest given to them. Their care for our synod in planning for the future is the reason we can support congregations and ministry sites in financial need today. The month of October, in addition to being the grant application period, also happens to be National Estate Planning Month. The ELCA Foundation can help you establish a planned gift that ensures the continuation of God’s work in the world, Contact our regional planner: Ryan Ebner, ryan.ebner@elca.org, 814-823-3285.

SWPA Synod ELCA