Is this legal and/or ethical?

[nursey413]

I work for a Catholic non-profit hospital that has many smaller facilities throughout the area. The heads just gave us our new benefit packages that included a pharmacy plan that we had requested for years. The problem I have with it is that they do not cover any birth control pills or voluntary sterilization under our health insurance citing the Catholic religion. I am Catholic and understand what they are doing, however, many of my coworkers are not. Also, I work in the OR and we staff C-Sections. We are often scrubbing or circulating cases in which a tubal is performed.

My confusion and concern lies in the fact that we offer the choice to our patients but not to the staff members.

What do you think??

[Sharon Joseph]

I had my 2nd c-section in a catholic hospital. I don't understand why your catholic hosp. does tubals, and the one I had to use did not allow me to have a tubal (even after the doctor told me I should not have anymore children for medical reasons). As far as a "non-profit" hospital citing religious reasons for not allowing the full range of medical benifits for it's employees, I do think that is wrong. What's next, they'll start screening all the medical care employees recieve to make sure the church approves? Some of the reasons I no longer practice catholicism.

[Sharon]

Unfortunately, the answer is "Yes" an employer can create a benefits package that excludes conditions, procedures, and therapeutics as long as it is equitable. For instance, the plan cannot refuse to pay for Ca125's and pay for PSA's. Some plan participants have successfully argued that if a plan covers Viagra then they must cover BCP's.