About this project

Mennonite Church USA Congregational Survey on healthcare access

Sixty Five Mennonite Church USA congregations were chosen to participate in a survey to understand the challenges our members face regarding healthcare access. Invitations were sent to congregations in fall 2004. Congregations were asked to allocate an hour for a special meeting for this purpose. As of May 1, response data had been entered for 52 congregations representing 2,012 members. The survey was designed to be completed by only those in attendance at the meetings. Anecdotal evidence suggests that meeting attendees likely included the “committed core” of the congregation and especially those with special interests in healthcare, as opposed to those on the fringes.

Congregations were selected using a random method designed to get a variety of congregations based on size, geographic location, and Racial/Ethnic representation. The goal was to have the survey sample reflect the diversity of Mennonite Church USA.

The following results should be considered preliminary. Mennonite Church USA is not able to comment definitively on the experience of Racial/Ethnic congregations, though four are included among the 52 in this sample.

Highlights of the findings include:

1.	Uninsured.
	a. 8% of respondents have been without insurance at some point during the last year. b. Only 4% of respondents are not presently covered by insurance.   · Of those presently uninsured, the overwhelming reason given was “cannot afford to buy it”.
2.	Status of health.
	a. Nearly half (47%) of the members reported having someone in their immediate family with special healthcare needs. The top conditions identified, in order of frequency included: diabetes, heart condition, cancer, asthma, high blood pressure, mental illness, obesity, and arthritis. b. Pastors rate the healthcare status of their members worse than what their individual members report.   On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 means being in perfect health and 1 means being in poor health): · 83% of members report their state of health is 7 or above. · Only 65% of pastors report their congregations’ health is 7 or above. c. Three times as many divorced persons rate their health “poor” as those who are married.