Doctor warns that religious identity in healthcare at risk

Last updated on: November 26, 2013 at 11:11 am by CNA Daily News

Doctor warns that religious identity in healthcare at risk 2013-11-26T11:11:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Vatican City, Nov 26, 2013 / 04:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The president of the leading Catholic healthcare system in the U.S. has revealed that the requirements of the HHS mandate are a great threat to the company’s ability to continue serving those most in need.

"One of the challenges for us is to make sure we maintain the freedom as a religious organization to continue to respect the dignity of life and take care of young and old throughout the life cycle," Dr. Anthony Tersigni told CNA in a Nov. 25 interview.

Tersigni is the president chief executive officer of Ascension Health in the United States, as well as the president of the International Committee of Catholic Health Care Institutions at the Vatican.

Ascension Health is a non-profit Catholic healthcare system directed by the Church which seeks to offer care and assistance to those most in need.

During a conference for healthcare workers held in Rome Nov. 22 through the 24th, Tersigni stated that "as a Catholic organization, we obviously believe differently than most in terms of what happens with life," stating that their approach "is to take care of and provide dignity of life from birth through natural death."

"So we differentiate ourselves," he continued, adding that the requirements of the HHS mandate threaten their status as a religious organization.

The HHS mandate was issued under the Affordable Care Act and requires employers to offer health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and abortion-causing drugs, even if doing so violates the employer's conscience or religious beliefs.

"As an American healthcare system," Tersigni explained, "we continue to work very closely with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops" in finding a resolution to the concerns which the mandate poses.

"We really support their lead and their effort in looking at this issue and continue to make our contribution to public policy in the country on behalf of those of us who maintain the need for religious freedom."

Recalling how several others present at the conference have "government funded programs" which have been in place for many years, the doctor noted that the situation in the U.S. is unique because "we have a private funding program together with government funding."

"So there are nuances of our system that are much different than any other part of the world," he continued, stating that a great area of collaboration is in "making sure that as we develop public policy in the United States that we're sensitive to the differences and we're clearly sensitive to our faith tradition."

Another great challenge for the healthcare service, noted the doctor, "is the uninsured," stating that "even with the Affordable Care Act as is presently in place there will be millions of people uninsured."

Not only are the uninsured a growing concern, Tersigni expressed, but they are beginning to see also "what we believe is a class of underinsured and we worry about that."

"We are a safety net provider in many of the communities that we serve," he explained, "we serve all with special attention to the poor and vulnerable, we don't turn anyone away."

"We worry about the sustainability of this Catholic health ministry over time if we don't create the public policy that's necessary for us to take care of every man, woman and child in a very dignified way."

A key goal of the conference, Tersigni observed, is "to raise the health care quality throughout the world," with a special focus "on the dignity and respect for the human life as well as to provide environments that are safe, high-quality and very low cost."

Vatican

Previous Post

November 26, 2013

Begin 'new chapter' of joyful evangelization, Pope exhorts

Next Post

November 26, 2013 Pope: Church's teaching on abortion is unchangeable

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where did Moses strike a rock and water came out?

Select your answer to see how you score.

At Horeb At Jordan At Kadesh At Marah