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12/30/2014: U.S. Bishops Take Aim at Sterilization

9/21/2014: Which Catholics Offer Birth Control? Look to the Insurers

9/17/2014: FTC Wary of Hospital Mergers

8/29/2014: WA clinic funded by public/Catholic partnership will not be religiously restricted

8/26/2014: TX: Catholic teaching hospital to replace publicly-owned hospital set for construction

7/22/2014: WA: PeaceHealth Calls Off Affiliation Plans with Two Public Hospitals

7/08/2014: CT: For-Profit Tenet Healthcare Announces Acquisition of St. Mary's Hospital

7/06/2014: The Risks of Hospital Mergers (Opinion)

7/06/2014: Seattle: Medical Students Express Concerns Over University of Washington, PeaceHealth Collaboration

6/25/2014: Denver: National Jewish, Exempla St. Joseph Finalize Partnership

6/19/2014: Catholic Health Initiatives to Expand its Medicare Advantage Business to 4 More States

6/17/2014: Chicago: Alexian, Adventist Sign LOI to Form Joint Operating Company with 9 Hospitals

6/17/2014: NY: Ellis Medicine and St. Peter's Health Partners to Establish Clinical Network

6/11/2014: WA: Kadlec Health System Announces Affiliation with Providence

6/10/2014: NY: Community Hospital Outside Buffalo to Affiliate with Catholic Health System

6/01/2014: CHI Finalizes Acquisition of Memorial Health System of East Texas

5/23/2014: OK Doctors Get Revised Contract from Catholic Hospital, Questions Remain

5/22/2014: IL: (Catholic) OSF Healthcare Deepens Affiliation with Mendota Community Hospital

5/14/2014: OK: Catholic System Bars Its Name and Logo from Birth Control Prescription Pads

5/01/2014: Hospitals Should Expect Scrutiny of Mergers and Affiliations

4/17/2014: Birth Control Debate at OK Catholic Hospital Lingers

4/04/2014: CA AG Extracts More Pledges from Hoag After Catholic Affiliation Led to Unexpected Abortion Ban

4/01/2014: OK Catholic Hospital Responds to Social Media Outcry Over Birth Control Restrictions

3/31/2014: Mercy Health System Selected to Manage Tulsa's Publicly Owned OSU Medical Center

3/29/2014: OK: Doctors Affiliated with Catholic Hospital No Longer Allowed to Prescribe Birth Control

3/28/2014: WA State Case Study: A Difficult Miscarriage Made Worse By Hospital's Religious Restrictions on Care

3/21/2014: NY: Lewis County General to Affiliate with St. Joseph's in Syracuse

3/03/2014: WI: Abortion's Stigma Still Intimidates in Post-Roe Era

2/23/2014: How Ascension Became One of Nation's Biggest Health Systems

2/22/2014: SW OH Hospitals Pull Back on Abortions

2/21/2014: WA State Officials Want More Oversight of Hospital Affiliations

2/21/2014: Humility of Mary Health Partners Sign LOI with OH's River Valley Health

2/13/2014: CO Agency Will Not Investigate Catholic Hospital's Ban on Abortion Counseling

2/03/2014: Seattle Medical Clinic Chain Agrees to 'Secular' Affiliation with Providence

2/03/2014: (Opinion) Catholic Dominance Over Hospitals Endangers Women

1/01/2014: Bishops Run Catholic Hospitals - And Should Be Liable When Edicts Lead to Error

12/23/2013: WA Hospitals Must Post Policies on Reproduction, End-of-Life Care

12/18/2013: Baylor College of Medicine, Catholic Health Initiatives Joint Venture Gets Fed Clearance

12/16/2013: Benefits Questioned in Tax Breaks for Nonprofit Hospitals

12/11/2013: NYS AG Settlement with 2 Merging Hospitals Protects Reproductive Health Services

12/02/2013: Lawsuit Filed in MI Over Handling of Miscarriage in Catholic Hospital

11/14/2013: IN Catholic Hospital Defies Federal Law Protecting LGBT Visitation Rights

11/14/2013: CO Catholic Hospital Gag Order Under Fire

11/07/2013: Bellingham May End Tax Exemption for Religious Health Care Providers

10/10/2013: Catholic/Secular Partnership in NYS, Most Key Services Preserved

10/03/2013: Catholic Health Partners Buys Kaiser Fdn Health Plan of OH Through Secular Holding Company

9/26/2013: Catholic Health Partners Restructures Summa Deal to Avoid Bishop Review

9/25/2013: Another Catholic/Secular Deal in Washington State

9/01/2013: Defending Death with Dignity in Catholic Hospital Mergers (Guest Column)

8/29/2013: PeaceHealth Wins Affiliation with Two Public Hospitals in WA

8/23/2013: Hospital Affiliation vs. Merger: There is a Difference

8/23/2013: Doctors Urge More Hospitals to Perform Abortions

8/21/2013: WA State AG Affirms Public Hospitals Must Offer Birth Control, Abortion

8/12/2013: New Laws and Rising Costs Create a Surge of Supersizing Hospitals

8/10/2013: Church-state Issues Swirl Around Austin, TX Medical School

8/07/2013: WA Secular/Religious Affiliation Approved, Key Service Preserved Through Unique Governance Structure

8/07/2013: WI AG: Catholic Hospitals Denying Abortion Doctors Admitting Privileges is Federal Violation

8/01/2013: WA Hospital Commissioners Answer Questions About Catholic Bidders

7/23/2013: Catholic Health Systems Making History with Hospital Mergers

7/21/2013: WA Gov'r Sensible Response to Hospital Merger Concerns (Editorial)

7/20/2013: Harrison/Franciscan CON Process Unresolved

7/19/2013: Opponents Speak Out Against Religious Bidders for 3-Public Hospital Deal in WA

7/01/2013: WA Hospital CEO Attempts to Forestall Community Fears over Affiliation

6/21/2013: WA Hospital CEO Tries to Calm Nerves About Pending Affiliation with Catholic System

6/21/2013: Hoag's Underhanded Abortion Ban

6/15/2013: Abortion Advocates Challenge Hoag Ban

6/11/2013: As Doctors, We Oppose Abortion Ban at Hoag

5/26/2013: Catholic Hospital Mergers Put Women's Health At Risk

5/26/2013: UW Medicine Tries to Calm Critics of Link to Catholic System

5/22/2013: Is Catholic Church Taking Over Health Care in Washington State?

5/20/2013: UW Medicine, Catholic Health System Announce Strategic Affiliation

5/06/2013: Fears of a Catholic Monopoly Dominate Talk of WA Hospital Mergers

4/30/3013: Vashon Islanders Express Skepticism Over Franciscan Merger

4/19/2013: St. Luke's System in Houston to Sell to Catholic Health Initiatives

4/17/2013: Seattle Activists Question Health Center Merger with Catholic System

4/11/2013: UAMS, St Vincent Deal: Devil is in the Details, Says Bishop

3/24/2013: ACLU Says Faith-based Hospitals Jeopardize Reproductive, End-of-life Care

3/20/2013: Hospitals' RFP Includes Questions for Religious Health Systems

2/28/2013: Catholic KentuckyOne Health Takes Over University Hospital

1/26/2013: Religious Groups and Employers Battle Contraceptive Coverage Mandate

1/26/2013: Public Hospital Mergers in Skagit County, WA Raise Concerns

1/22/2013: WA Public Hospital Commission Stands By Contract with PeaceHealth

1/18/2013: CO County Commission Discontinues Provision of EC to Low-Income Patients

12/08/2012: Critics Wary of Catholic Teaching Hospital for New University of Texas Medical School

11/17/2012: Vatican Steps into Fray on Catholic Hospital Sale to For-Profit System

11/12/2012: US Bishops Hold Steady on Stance Against Contraceptive Coverage

10/30/2012: Ashland Hospital Deal with Dignity Health Collapses

10/16/2012: Bremerton, WA Hospital Plans to Join Franciscan Health System

10/14/2012: Waterbury Merger Collapses Over ERDs

9/21/201: Agreement Between WA Hospital District & PeaceHealth Raises Concerns

9/15/2012: Proposal to Close Kingston Hospital, Move All Services into Former Catholic Hospital Draws Protest

9/15/2012: Ashland Hospital Merger Runs into Scrutiny

9/13/2012: Recognizing Conscience in Abortion Provision

9/12/2012: OBGYN Providers Feel Pressure to Provide Restricted Care in Louisville

9/05/2012: Waterbury Merger Flounders, Carve-Out Proposal Rejected

8/30/2012: Utica NY: Secular and Religious Hospitals Consider Active Parent Affiliation Model

8/20/2012: For-Profit Chain to Buy Mercy Health System in Maine

8/18/2012: The Economist Examines Catholic Church Finances in America

8/15/2012: A Secular & Religious Health System Announce Affiliation Plans in Orange County, CA

8/15/2012: Crystal City, MO: Mercy Agrees to Buy Jefferson Memorial

7/20/2012: Abington, PA: Merger's Failure is Good Medicine

7/19/2012: Abington Ends Merger Talks with Holy Redeemer

7/15/2012: Laramie, WY Public Hospital Passes Over Religious Partner

7/10/2012: Kingston Hospital to Close, Benedictine Hospital to Become Non-Sectarian

6/28/2012: PeaceHealth Promises No Cutbacks on Women's Health Services

6/05/2012: CHI to Buyout 50 Percent Share Owner of Nine Omaha Hospitals

6/01/2012: CT Governor Says Merger Should Provide Women's Health Care Services

5/21/2012: Waterbury, CT Hospital Merger Would Ban Women's Surgery

5/04/2012: Merged Religious/secular Hospital in Kingston, NY May Close One Campus

5/04/2012: Study: Some OBGYNs Cite Religious Conflict over Care

4/25/2012: Kingston, NY Carve-Out for Repro Services Back on Track

4/24/2012: Waterbury, St. Mary's in Joint Venture w/ For-Profit, Replacement Hospital to Follow ERDs

4/21/2012: Austin's Public Hospital to Be Replaced Using Catholic System Funds

4/21/2012: Santa Fe Merger Negatively Affects Access to Abortion Providers

4/17/2012: OSF Healthcare Gets Approval to Acquire Ottawa Hospital

4/12/2012: FTC Puts Breaks on Rockford Health/OSF Healthcare Merger

4/11/2012: Ashland Community Hospital to Affiliate with Dignity Health

3/23/2012: St. Joseph Picks University of Maryland Medical System as Final Bidder

3/01/2012: Lowell General, Saints Medical to Merge, ERDs to Remain at Saints

2/21/2012: FL County Approved Lease of Hospital to Catholic/For-Profit Joint Venture

2/20/2012: Catholic Hospitals Expand, Religious Strings Attached

2/16/2012: Carve-Out Solution in Kingston, NY Struggles to Keep Abortion Services Available

2/10/2012: President Obama on New Contraception Coverage Rule

1/28/2012: Larger Implications of Catholic Healthcare West's Conversion

1/23/2012: St. Francis, Johnson Memorial to Affiliate

1/23/2012: Catholic Healthcare West Cuts Ties with Catholic Church

1/20/2012: HHS Approves Rule for Near-Universal Birth Control Coverage

1/16/2012: Without Merger, Visions for University Hospital's Future Contrast

12/31/2011: Louisville Merger Rejection Praised by Local Advocates

12/31/2011: Louisville Merger Rejected by KY Governor

12/17/2011: Louisville Merger Documents Released, But Don't Reassure Critics

12/05/2011: Saint Thomas, Capella Healthcare Form Partnership in Tennessee

11/30/2011: Birth Control Coverage Debate Heats Up

11/27/2011: CT Facing a Wave of Hospital Consolidation

11/23/2011: Local Health Board Warns that Louisville Merger May Worsen Health Equity

10/12/2011: Local Health Advocates Question Hospital Affiliation in Seattle

10/10/2011: Catholic Healthcare West to Sell Reno, NV Hospital

10/09/2011: Colorado AG asked to intervene in Case involving 1 Catholic & 2 traditionally secular hospitals

10/05/2011: Large Religious-Secular Hospital Merger in Washington State

9/28/2011: Yale New-Haven to Acquire Hospital of St. Raphael, 1 of 3 CT Deals in Works

9/25/2011: The Cost of Undoing Hospital Mergers

9/25/2011: Plan to Move Tubal Ligations to Another Hospital Criticized

9/08/2011: Church-state Separation Issues in Louisville Merger Case

8/31/2011: Tubal Ligations to be Moved to Baptist East after Louisville Merger

8/26/2011: Anti-abortion Groups Oppose Hospital Merger in Connecticut

8/18/2011: Secular and Catholic Hospitals in Atlanta File for Joint Operating Company

8/04/2011: St. Francis and Johnson Memorial Consider an Affiliation

7/31/2011: Catholic Healthcare Mergers with Hospitals Have Mixed Track Record

7/27/2011: Louisville Hospital Merger will Require State Approval, Says AG

7/25/2011: KY Lawmakers Call on Leadership to Defend Hospital Merger

7/23/2011: Merger Stirs End-of-Life Care Fears

7/21/2011: "Hospital Within A Hospital" Possible Solution for Merger Concerns

7/17/2011: Merger Means Catholic Rules will Bar Tubals at University Hospital

7/05/2011: For-Profit Chain to Buy 7 Catholic Hospitals

6/29/2011: Public Hospital Considers Joining Catholic System in Washington State

6/17/2011: NYS Approves Consolidation of Elmira's Secular & Catholic Hospitals

6/16/2011: Over Objections, Maryland will lease land to Catholic hospital

6/12/2011: Three-System Merger in Louisville Draws Community Scrutiny

6/01/2011: One to Watch - New Affiliation in New York State

6/01/2011: For-Profit Chain Final Bidder for RI Hospital

5/09/2011: Ms. Magazine Blog: Treatment Denied

5/04/2011: New Jersey Rep. Reintroduces EC in ER Bill

5/03/2011: For-Profit Chain Begins Negotiation to Acquire 7 Catholic Hospitals

4/30/2011: 3-Hospital Merger with Carve-Out Gets FTC Approval

4/30/2011: Bishops Call for Defunding State Sex-ed Website

4/29/2011: Appeals Court Overturns Stem Cell Research Ban

4/27/2011: New Study Shows More U.S. Women Using Emergency Contraception

4/15/2011: First Recipient of Stem Cell Treatment Speaks Out

4/10/2011: Termination of Merger in Arizona Celebrated

3/31/2011: AZ Patients' Rights Group Efforts Pay Off: Hospital Calls off Affiliation with Catholic System

3/25/2011: PBS' Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly: Catholic-Secular Hospital Mergers

2/18/2011: Controversial HHS Refusal Regulation Replaced

1/31/2011: Catholic Health Association, Bishops Reach Accord over ERD Interpretation

1/26/2011: New York Times Op-Ed: Tussling Over Jesus

1/20/2011: NWLC Calls on Feds to Investigate Violations of Provider Obligations in Pregnancy Emergency Cases

1/19/2011: Washington Post: Religious Hospitals' Restrictions Spark Conflict, Scrutiny

12/22/2010: ACLU Pushes Feds to Clarify Rules in Wake of Bishop's Action Against Phoenix Hospital

« What will the U.S. Bishops do to further restrict access to women's reproductive health care in 2015? | Main | MergerWatch on Melissa Harris-Perry Show »
Wednesday
Dec182013

Rise in Catholic-Sponsored Hospitals Threatens Women’s Health, New Report Finds

MergerWatch and the ACLU have released a report, Miscarriage of Medicine: The Growth of Catholic Hospitals and the Threat to Reproductive Health Care

The report looks at the increasing number of acute-care hospitals that are Catholic-sponsored or -affiliated and the expansion of Catholic-sponsored health systems in the United States between 2001 and 2011. It discusses the threat this growth poses to patient access to reproductive health services, including information and referrals.

The report further shows the degree to which these institutions rely on tax dollars, even as they limit medical care based on religious doctrine. At the same time, data also indicate that, despite their claims of service to the poor, Catholic-sponsored and -affiliated facilities actually provide only an average amount of charity care and a lower percentage of care to Medicaid patients than any other type of hospital.   

Among its key findings:
  • Between 2001 and 2011, the number of Catholic-sponsored or –affiliated acute-care hospitals increased by 16%, while all other types of non-profit hospitals declined in numbers.
  • By 2011, 10 % of all acute-care hospitals were Catholic-sponsored or –affiliated.
  • About one in nine beds was in a Catholic –sponsored or –affiliated hospital in 2011.
  • In 2011, 10 of the 25 largest health systems in the nation were Catholic sponsored.

In short, this report reveals how Catholic hospitals have left far behind their humble beginnings as facilities established by orders of nuns and brothers to serve the faithful and the poor. They have organized into large systems that behave like businesses – aggressively expanding to capture greater market share – but rely on public funding and use religious doctrine to compromise women’s health care.

The report also includes a number of recommendations, including to call on CMS to enforce requirements that all hospitals, regardless of religious affiliation, provide complete information about all treatment options and emergency care.

Please feel free to share the report. We hope this will advance our work for education and policy reform to ensure that patients’ health and rights are respected.

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