Caritas ends joint venture
Was at odds with insurer on abortion
Caritas Christi Health Care, the financially challenged Catholic hospital system founded by the Archdiocese of Boston, is abruptly ending its joint venture with a Missouri-based health insurer at the insistence of Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, who has decided that the relationship represented too much of an entanglement between Catholic hospitals and abortion providers.
The change will have no effect on patient care, because Caritas will continue to participate in the state-subsidized program, called Commonwealth Care, but now simply as one of many healthcare providers treating patients, and no longer as a co-owner of an insurance venture.
Caritas’s withdrawal from the insurance venture, just days before it will start providing care to low-income residents as part of the state’s efforts to establish near-universal health coverage here, is a vindication of sorts for a variety of conservative Catholic critics of the cardinal, who have been arguing angrily that it would be “evil’’ for Caritas to collaborate with a health insurer that covers abortion services.
The dramatic development, announced last night, is a setback for Caritas because it represents the undoing of one of the steps its new chief executive, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, had announced as part of his effort to turn around the hospital system’s finances. It was not immediately clear last night what the financial impact of the change is on Caritas, but the decision is a stark and public reminder from O’Malley to de la Torre and the general public that moral concerns will trump monetary issues at Catholic hospitals.
“Throughout this process, our singular goal has been to provide for the needs of the poor and under-served in a manner that is fully and completely in accord with Catholic moral teaching,’’ O’Malley said in a statement last night. “By withdrawing from the joint venture and serving the poor as a provider . . . upholding Catholic moral teaching at all times, they are able to carry forward the critical mission of Catholic health care.’’
Because Caritas will no longer be a joint owner of the insurance venture, the archdiocese is hoping that there will no longer be any question that Caritas will not financially profit from abortions, sterilizations, or other services provided by non-Catholic hospitals.
In keeping with the ethical directives that bind Catholic hospitals, Caritas facilities will continue the practice of not providing abortion or sterilizations. Caritas refers privately insured patients who seek such services to their insurance providers and will do the same with state-insured patients who seek treatment via Commonwealth Care.
Four months ago, Caritas had announced plans with Centene to create a new company, now named CeltiCare, to provide health insurance to thousands of low-income Massachusetts residents under Commonwealth Care. Until Caritas withdrew yesterday, CeltiCare was 49 percent owned by the Catholic hospital system, and 51 percent owned by a Centene subsidiary.
The archdiocese said that O’Malley sought the withdrawal after weeks of consultation with the National Catholic
In Massachusetts, the state requires Commonwealth Care insurers to cover abortion services, and CeltiCare has on its website a list of copayment fees for abortions, as well as referral information for a number of Planned Parenthood centers.
As a result of yesterday’s action, CeltiCare is now 100 percent owned by Celtic Group, the Centene subsidiary.
“Caritas Christi will continue to participate as a key part of the CeltiCare provider network,’’ said Richard Lynch, chief executive of CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts. “The arrangement in no way affects the operations of CeltiCare Health, and we look forward to delivering quality healthcare services to our members starting on July 1.’’
Caritas spokeswoman Teresa Prego declined to say what the financial impact of the development would be.
But she said that Caritas would benefit financially by being an official provider of health services to patients in the Commonwealth Care program.
“It simplifies the process for payment now and ensures that we are paid for the procedures performed in our facility,’’ she said.
And Prego said of the decision to end the joint venture, “This is the right way to move the distraction of the debate of ownership and allow us to be a provider.’’
O’Malley’s action yesterday drew praise from Anne Fox, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, who had urged the cardinal to block the venture, but who had been less vitriolic in her criticism than some.
“A lot of people were slamming him, and we just kept saying we knew he would do what was right,’’ Fox said.
On the other side of the abortion debate, Andrea Miller, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said that she had been concerned about Caritas’s involvement in the joint venture because of the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion, but that she remains concerned about whether Caritas’s role as a provider will make it more difficult for poor people to get services opposed by the church but supported by NARAL.
“The questions remains: Will the involvement of Caritas Christi health providers negatively affect women’s ability to get timely access to reproductive services, including birth control?’’ Miller said.
“We will continue to monitor the involvement of Caritas providers in any of the Commonwealth Care plans and hope that the [state regulators] will continue due diligence to ensure that referrals and services are provided in a manner that does not delay or deny access to reproductive health services.’’
Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com. 
