Why the Little Sisters of the Poor Oppose the HHS Mandate

National Catholic Register ^ | 10/14/2012 | Mary Frances Boyle

[iowamark]

Sister Constance Veit directs the publications office for the Little Sisters of the Poor, one of these groups waiting and hoping for relief from the HHS mandate. Between their 30 homes in the United States, the Little Sisters serve 2,500 elderly residents — enough to keep more than 300 sisters joyfully busy. The order is putting much effort into opposing this federal rule, and Sister Constance explains why...

If we chose to offer insurance without the objectionable services, we would honor our consciences, but we’d have to pay $100 per day per employee... for an organization with 50 employees, that would mean almost $2 million per year.

So if the mandate is still standing in 2014, all of our U.S. homes will be facing serious financial difficulties. To put this in perspective, we already have to make up at least half of our operating expenses through donations, because Medicaid reimbursements cover only about half of what it costs to care for the elderly in the way they deserve. So the potential fines or penalties we’re looking at just make it that much harder...

Do you think this violation of religious liberty will lead to others, particularly in end-of-life care?

This is our real concern...

But, for us, we are concerned about what could happen later — about the precedent for government intruding further into the health-care arena in ways that could be life-threatening to our residents. Institutional long-term care is already the most regulated segment of health care.

What we fear is that, if the federal government succeeds in this case, there are other areas where they could exert pressure or enact measures that could endanger our apostolate — particularly in end-of-life care and in the possible rationing of care to the elderly as a cost-saving measure.

[Sun]

“If we chose to offer insurance without the objectionable services, we would honor our consciences, but we’d have to pay $100 per day per employee... for an organization with 50 employees, that would mean almost $2 million per year.

So if the mandate is still standing in 2014, all of our U.S. homes will be facing serious financial difficulties. ..”

Obama wants to put these charities out of business, so every American will be at the mercy of the government.

[tpmintx]

If you’re ever looking for a place to donate money, I cannot think of a more deserving institution than the Little Sisters of the Poor.

http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/donate

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

If Obamacare is kept intact with Obie reelected, then this religious order will have to change their name to “Little Sisters Are Poorer”