CHICAGO -- The United Methodist Church (UMC), struggling to pay rising health care costs for its staff, will hold focus groups this fall to discuss plans for addressing the problem.

Increased costs have forced many UMC conferences to reduce their coverage, pass more costs on to participants or drop people from the health care plans, according to the United Methodist News Service.

The UMC's Benefits 2004 Task Force, meeting with focus groups nationwide in September and October, will share its recommendations for providing comprehensive and consistent health care coverage throughout the church. The task force is recommending the denomination provide core pension benefits for all clergy and full-time lay workers and health care for active and retired clergy.

Each of UMC's 65 annual conferences is responsible for providing coverage to its active and retired employees. More than 30 conferences, agencies or other church-related employers offer coverage through the denomination's HealthFlex program. No details on costs were available.

The focus groups will include active and retired clergy, lay people, benefits officers and treasurers and bishops.

"It's a listening process," UMC spokesman Michael Lee said. "It's not us delivering a plan for them to say yea or nay."

Comments from the focus groups will be used in the task force's formal proposal, which UMC's Board of Pension and Health Benefits will vote on before sending it to the General Conference in 2004 for approval.