St. Anne’s (Hospital in MA) won’t give benefits to same-sex couples

FALL RIVER -- Gay and lesbian employees at St. Anne's Hospital who provide health care benefits for their spouses will no longer be able to provide those services to their loved ones. Beginning Oct. 1, St. Anne’s is changing all of its health plans to self-funded plans. The move allows the hospital's managing group, Caritas Christi Health Care, to stop extending insurance benefits to same-sex spouses of employees.

Under a self-funded plan, the employer pays funds for the plan based on its actual claims experience and hires a plan administrator to process the claims.

A letter to employees dated Sept. 3 explained the change. "Since same-sex marriage is in conflict with church teachings, all Caritas Christi Hospitals are changing to self-funded plans."

St. Anne's Hospital is part of Caritas Christi's Catholic Health Care System, which is associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The group operates six hospitals throughout eastern Massachusetts.

A representative for the Archdiocese of Boston referred all questions to spokesmen at St. Anne's.

St. Anne's spokeswoman Wendy Bauer said that it is the ideal of following those teachings that played a role in making the switch.

"Federal law states that employers with self-funded plans are not required to extend insurance benefits to same-sex spouses or employees," Bauer said.

Bauer said she did not know how many St. Anne's employees are in same-sex marriages, but that to this point she had not heard any negative feedback regarding the changes.

"Our enrollment fair is not until next week. Normally, that is when we hear input from the employees," she said.

She added that currently a majority of employees at the hospital use a self-funded plan.

Michele Granda, staff attorney for the activist group Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said that the Caritas group should still provide same-sex spouses of employees with benefits regardless of Catholic teachings.

"They can make the teachings known without penalizing employees' spouses," Granda said. "They get paid the same and they earn the same benefits through the week -- it should be good for all spouses."

Granda said that this is the first instance she has heard of employers making changes to health plans to deny same-sex couples shared benefits.

All of the other hospitals in the system are also switching to the self-funded plans on Oct. 1.

While the plans will take away the ability for same-sex couples to share their health benefits, Bauer said that the move is also being done to give employees the most economical option.

"We review the benefits every year and take a look back at everything and make changes to provide the best plan at the most reasonable costs," Bauer said.

The new plans are being provided by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New England. Currently, St. Anne's employees receive their health care from United Healthcare or Tufts Health Plan. The Tufts plan, which is also self-funded, will continue to be offered to employees.

The letter to employees added that the switch in health care providers was made due to the likelihood that remaining with United Healthcare would cause claims to fluctuate significantly, causing a rise in unbudgeted costs.

Because the other hospitals in Caritas Christi's system are also switching to the self-funded plans, only claims made by St. Anne's employees would be spread out among the other Caritas members.

Bauer said that being able to provide employees with health care at a lower cost is also helpful because health care employees tend to have higher usage rates.

"Employees of health care organizations tend to have a greater awareness and knowledge as well as access to health care, which may cause these higher utilization rates," said Bauer.

The change will also effect the hospital's dental plan, which is provided by Delta Dental. However, a slight decrease to the dental plan is expected with no changes in benefits.

Another reason for the switch, Bauer said, is to provide better options for Rhode Island residents who work at the hospital.

Josh Freidas, advocacy director for the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts, said that stripping same-sex couples of the ability to provide health care insurance for their partners is a disturbing trend to set.

"Any employer who sets to change benefit plans and attempt to deny spouses essential benefits, whether it's health care or retirement plans, is an action that is cruel and inhumane," Freidas said. "Marriage is the ultimate family protection plan."

Freidas said that the ability for same-sex couples to provide benefits for spouses is another step that solidifies the union of marriage.

"Gay and lesbians sought marriage rights as a way to demonstrate that they are committed to each other," Freidas said. "It is very disturbing that organizations are seeking to deny gay and lesbian spouses equal benefits."

Emeril... what a guy. He is down to earth and entertaining. I've been to the Fall River and New Bedford area a few times. I used to live in the people's republic of Massachusetts.

Once had to drive down there to an exclusively Corvair junkyard to get some money for mine.

When my father was a young child he had an eye condition that was causing him to go blind and with no medical remedy possible his mother took him to St. Anns church in Fall River to pray and he was cured days later.

There may even be a few freepers with libertarian/atheistic leanings who cringe at the thought of divine intervention in the affairs of man. I, for one, am very familiar with Saint Anne's church in Fall River. People from around the world continue to visit this church as they and their families have for many decades. It is obvious that the church, located directly across the street from the hospital, sends a powerful message of God's all-encompassing providence.

Fall River people (many, not all - but MANY is itself a miracle!) are, in fact, far more culturally conservative yet more genuinely intelligent and compassionate [and they prove it with their donations of money and physical labor for charitable causes] than the "liberated" and "enlightened" and "sophisticated" but snide and rude and UNNATURAL socialists of the Boston-Cambridge area who look down their noses at the lowly "low-life" Fall River/New Bedford area.

P.S. I can cook better than Emeril Lagasse. ;-)

"They can make the teachings known without penalizing employees' spouses," Granda said. "They get paid the same and they earn the same benefits through the week -- it should be good for all spouses."

Earth to Granda: a man cannot legitimately take a man for a spouse.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.