One time I found myself needing health insurance.  Actually, I’ve found myself in this situation several times.  When Katie and I first got married, our health insurance was through her employer (The Arrow Project).  But then when Katie transitioned to begin Bridge Connections, we had no insurance, even though I was full-time, I was working for my father-in-law’s congregation, (Harford Community Church).  Like most churches with only a handful of staff – no health insurance was offered.

This is one of the benefits of working for a denomination.  One time I worked for a denomination, and about $12,000 of my salary was put into an insurance policy (at least that’s what was reported on my annual salary package statement).  The day came when I no longer worked for that church, and they sent me a letter which stated that they would pay 30% of the cost to continue my health insurance for the next 3 months.   The letter stated that I would not have to pay the church for the remaining 70%.  The letter was unclear and confusing, and I interpreted the letter to mean that I didn’t need to send the 70% to the church but that the cost of the remaining 70% need to be sent to the government.  I later found out through a friend of mine (Charlie) that I could apply for the government to pay for the 70%.  To make things even more confusingm, President Obama changed the  Cobra policies, shortly after I received the letter and I believe the percentage breakdown now is 65% (paid by government if you apply/are accepted) and 35% (paid by employee or employer).  He read the original letter from the church and did a bunch of research online and talked to some other employers in business.  So, good news is – Katie and I have health insurance for the next 3 months.  The not so good news is – they don’t teach you how to interpret cobra insurance policies in Bible college – but, on the upside – they do teach you how to interpret the Bible.

Our new address is 6601 Hampnett Ave.  Baltimore MD 21214.  If anyone wish to write, that’s our address.  Our phone numbers are still the same – 443.504.2643 (Nathan).

The past couple of days I’ve been working for a drilling company, digging trenches.  I’ve gone from the trenches of church ministry to the trenches of construction ministry!  I’m thankful for the work, and God continues to be good to us.  I took a picture of the trench I was standing in up to my shoulders but it didn’t show up.  I’ll try again on Monday.  I hope to get a blog posting up here in the next couple of days under the page “The Rest Of The Story” – on the topic of cobra-insurance.

Paul Harvey was a great guy…I used to listen to him at 6pm on 105.1 every night when I was rinsing down the stalls at the barn.

A few people have asked me lately, “how does unemployment work in PA for nonprofits?”  Since Katie and I run a nonprofit, we’ve looked into this topic.  Some may believe that nonprofits cannot claim unemployment for their employees – not true.  One person even told me one time that it is illegal for nonprofits to claim unemployment for their employees in PA.  I could be wrong – but I don’t think that’s true either.

Here’s what I found directly from the government’s website in PA.   There’s a ton of information on the site – here are a couple of things that are commonly misunderstood.  Should you ever work for a nonprofit (or serve on a committee for one) here’s the law and guidelines in PA.  http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/cwp/view.asp?a=185&q=170005#63

§63.61. Voluntary contributions to Unemployment Compensation Fund.

(a) Any employer who wishes to take advantage of the privilege afforded by voluntary contributions to the Unemployment Compensation Fund shall pay his voluntary contribution in strict conformity with section 302(b) of the Law (43 P. S. §782(b)). The amount shall be included in the computation or recomputation of the rate for any calendar year only if it is paid within 120 days after the beginning of the year.

§63.64. Records to be kept by employer.

(a) Content of records. Each employer, whether or not liable for the payment of contributions, shall keep clear, accurate and complete employment and payroll records. The records shall include the following information on each worker:

(1) Social security account number.

(2) Full name.

(3) Wage rate (hourly, daily or piece rate, weekly, monthly or annual salary).

(4) Total remuneration paid for each pay period by type of payment (cash and cash value of payments in kind).

(5) Traveling or other business expenses actually incurred and accounted for, and the dates such expenses were incurred and were paid by the employer.

(6) Place of employment.

(7) Full-time scheduled hours.

(8) Daily attendance record, showing the dates on which the worker actually worked, and time lost due to reasons other than lack of work.

(9) If separated, the date and the reasons for separation.

www.frombehindthestand.blogspot.com

I’m going to be setting up a blog tomorrow for Katie.  There are some things she wants to write to the world.  I hope the world is ready for her.  We just got back from Don and Sandy Milan’s house – so great to connect with good friends in fellowship.