Catholic Health Care Advocates Papers

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A Truly Catholic Health Care System

Michael O’Dea

In 1987, when I was counseling a teenage mother at Mother and Unborn Baby Care (pregnancy help center) I asked the mother of this pregnant teenager if her daughter was going to have an abortion, because they lacked finances. The mother responded "Whether she has the baby or aborts it, my insurance with Blue Care Network will pay". Since I was also insured by the same company, I no longer wanted to subsidize the killing of God’s innocent children.

It was this experience that inspired me, along with dedicated priests, religious, business executives, and healthcare professionals to begin working together to follow Christ’s call to change the health care culture.

"…[Moreover, if,] indeed, everyone has the mission and responsibility of acknowledging the personal dignity of every human being and of defending the right to life, some lay faithful are given particular title to this task; such as parents, teachers, health workers, and the many who hold economic and political power."

-Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici

Dioceses, willing to link their employees under unified health insurance, would be an ideal launching pad for this new vision. The Catholic Church is a worldwide symbol for life. Our Holy Father has clearly burnished that image over the past twenty years. A successful model in the U.S. by the National Catholic Conference of Bishops would motivate international dioceses.

The time has come for Catholics to proactively and positively restore the "culture of life" within healthcare. 

We visualize the compelling opportunity and need to bring all dioceses together under a national Catholic health insurance program. This would immediately encourage corporations across the country to add this option for employees. (Some of the most successful and economically powerful corporations in America are led by prominent Catholic CEO’s.) .) The components of such a successful plan include.

  1. A national health insurance carrier created by or for the dioceses.
  2. A plan administrator under Catholic control. This is a critically important component of any truly Catholic health insurance plan since claims processing can be easily manipulated under the present system to include "culture of death" procedures.
  3. A national network of Catholic hospitals under Catholic health insurance to provide only "culture of life" medical procedures. National Catholic health insurance may provide the financial "glue" to keep this rapidly deteriorating Catholic health care system intact.
This vision has been accomplished once already — but on a relatively small scale. With the assistance of ValuSure Corporation and spearheaded by the Vicar General, a Catholic health insurance program was successfully implemented in the Lincoln, Nebraska Diocese. Initially, the priests of the diocese objected to loosing their Blue Cross Blue Shield network coverage: but once the Catholic program was implemented, they were very pleased. The program was linked to Catholic health care providers who quickly appreciated that it was beneficial for their organizations, participating hospitals and physicians. Even more significantly, within six months of the implementation, Good Year Tire & Rubber, a local employer, made the Catholic network available to its employees. When Blue Cross Blue Shield offered to match the Catholic plan design, they were invited to come back when they stopped financing abortions and other "culture of death" procedures. Our dream and our motto "Good morality is good business!" became a reality.

Our experience in Lincoln clearly identified the barriers that hinder Catholic health care insurance . To overcome these barriers the clergy, Christian health care professionals and business executives must provide strong leadership in four areas:

The not-for profit Christus Medicus Foundation was formed to overcome the above mentioned obstacles by educating, motivating and activating Catholics leaders to establish Catholic health insurance in the local dioceses. Through the Foundation’ s mission to reclaim Christ-centered healthcare, corporate and public policy will be changed to offer God's people a "conscientious choice" in selecting health insurance.

With some 62 million Catholics and 25% of health care controlled by Catholic hospitals, the dioceses of the U.S. could establish by far the most comprehensive health care network in the nation. This leverage could enable dioceses to negotiate the highest quality of care at the most economical prices in the market. A Catholic administrator could control the plan design, administration and claims processing so no manipulation in benefits would occur.

Health care is a relatively complex topic. That fact can not dissuade us from the task of fundamentally changing the economics of health care. We have it within our control to create a viable alternative for millions of faithful Catholics. Contemporary health insurance provides much of the financial fuel for the millions of abortions and other "culture of death" procedures that have taken place over the last 25 plus years and continue unabated today. Committed Catholics don’t want to be part of such a system.

The long and glorious tradition of Catholic health care is itself under heavy attack as non-sectarian hospitals, corporate and government employers increasingly use their financial muscle to acquire Catholic hospitals and shape a "culture of death". Catholic health insurance is a powerful opportunity and Catholics should pursue it. If we don’t, we inexorably cede control of our country’s health system into the hands of those who display an increasing lack of sensitivity to the value of human life.