Catholic Virginia Mason cuts reproductive health care after merger [View all]

https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2024/12/virginia-mason-cuts-reproductive-health-care-after-merger

Virginia Mason cuts reproductive health care after merger
Since the hospital joined with a Catholic system, the birth center has shuttered and employee insurance soon won't cover abortions and vasectomies.

by Megan Burbank / December 23, 2024

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But in the years since Virginia Mason merged with a religiously affiliated hospital network in 2021, changes followed that shocked Rosewarne and her colleagues. The birth center was shuttered, and employee insurance coverage for abortion and vasectomies will soon be terminated. Taken together, these shifts have significantly narrowed the reproductive options of Virginia Mason employees. “You can’t have an abortion, but you can’t have your baby,” said Rosewarne.

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When Virginia Mason merged with Catholic Health Initiatives in 2021, becoming Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, some employees were told that the only changes to care would be related to the delivery of abortion and medical-aid-in-dying services, which are typically stopped following mergers of secular and Catholic health systems.

But the week of Sept. 17, two months before the birth center was shuttered, Virginia Mason employees were told their insurance benefits would be changing “to align” with those of CommonSpirit, the largest national Catholic hospital chain, itself the product of a merger of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives.

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The changes go into effect in 2025, leaving employees with just weeks to obtain reproductive health services like abortion and vasectomies under their current coverage.

… more … technically legal despite state law …