Catholic bishops switch course and urge Congress to preserve health care coverage

At a conference at Catholic University of America, just north of Capitol Hill, Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley called affordable health care “foundational” and warned government leaders that they had a “moral obligation” not to deprive people of health insurance.

David Gibson
January 21, 2017

The U.S. Catholic hierarchy was one of the staunchest foes of President Obama’s signature health care law, nearly derailing its passage in 2010 over concerns about abortion funding and exacting a political toll that helped doom abortion-opposing Democrats who backed Obamacare while boosting Republican efforts to take control of Congress.

But faced with the prospect of the GOP following through on pledges to repeal health care reform, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops seems to be changing its tune.

On Wednesday (Jan. 18), the USCCB released a letter warning Congress not to overturn the law without providing an immediate replacement to provide continuing coverage for the millions who have been insured under the Affordable Care Act.

“We recognize that the law has brought about important gains in coverage, and those gains should be protected,” Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Fla., chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, wrote to House and Senate members.

https://cruxnow.com/rns/2017/01/21/catholic-bishops-switch-course-urge-congress-preserve-health-care-coverage/

http://www.usccb.org/news/2017/17-013.cfm