Government Funding of Health Care That is Restricted by Religious Doctrine

American health care consumers are encountering more and more health care providers and health insurers who use religious teachings to determine the services they will provide. Religiously-affiliated hospitals, for example, may refuse to provide contraception, sterilizations, abortions, infertility services, comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention information (such as counseling about “safer sex” and condom use) and may refuse to allow patients to determine their own end-of-life care treatment options.

When consumers face these religiously-based restrictions on their health care, they often ask questions like these:

Is it appropriate for  a hospital that is licensed to serve the general public and receives public funding to be allowed to use religious teaching to restrict the health care it provides to a diverse community? What are the rights of patients and caregivers in such a situation, and how might they be protected?

The MergerWatch Project conducted a national research study on the extent of public funding going to hospitals that use religious teaching to restrict services. This report, “No Strings Attached: Public Funding of Religiously-Sponsored Hospitals in the United States,” found that more than half the operating revenues of these religious hospitals comes from public funding (such as Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements and government grants). The report also found that despite this significant level of public support, these religiously-sponsored hospitals are allowed to use religious doctrine to deny patients access to vital services.