(When a board member raised the objection that Caritas Christi, being a Catholic network, would not perform abortions, the two entities released a joint statement saying that "will contract with providers, both in and out of the Caritas network, to ensure to all services required by the authority, including confidential family planning services.")
Since then, Caritas Christi has withheld comment on the controversial venture, and on other questions about its operation "out of respect for the legal process of the Connector Authority." In other words, until the state makes its decision, the network deems it imprudent to comment on its operations.
However, the network's proposed partner evidently has no such reservations.
Michael Paulson, blogger and religious reporter for The Boston Globe, posts a statement from Centene Corporation, which answers the question: "How would you handle a situation in which a patient seeks a service a Catholic hospital will not provide?"
"Like all managed care plans, our health plans contract with a full spectrum of providers to ensure that all benefits are available to members, as required and approved by our state regulatory agencies. If a provider does not perform certain medical services, that provider directs patients back to the health plan. Our health plans have local staff and 1-800 numbers available 24/7 for access to information on all services provided. This number and information about all services are readily available online and in printed materials. In Massachusetts, we will apply these same procedures."You might visit Michael's "Articles of Faith" blog to review comments by Anne Fox, Massachusetts Citzens for Life president, and the Catholic League's C.J. Doyle.
