Catholic Church in Michigan may expand health care to gay couples Niraj
Warikoo, Detroit Free Press In a move praised by LGBT advocates, the Catholic
Church
in Michigan is making changes to its health care plan that could allow gays to
get health care for their partners or spouses. In a letter sent this week
to pastors and employees of the Catholic Church in Michigan, the Michigan
Catholic Conference said it is modifying its health care coverage to include
legally domiciled adults (LDA), meaning those who are above 18, have lived with
the employee for at least six months and are financially interdependent
with the employee. As long as the person meets those criteria, he or she will
get health care coverage, regardless of sexual orientation or activity, said
a Michigan Catholic Conference official. The move is being made to comply with
changes in federal law, which now allows for same-sex marriage, and also
to keep in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church, which opposes
same-gender sexual acts and same-gender marriage. The Michigan Catholic
Conference,
based in Lansing, oversees the health care for Catholic employees in the state.
A gay couple would not qualify under the current health insurance's spousal
coverage since the Catholic Church only defines a spouse as someone of the
opposite gender. The letter to employees from the Michigan Catholic Conference
(MCC) reads: 'Due to recent changes in federal law regarding the provision of
health benefits, Michigan Catholic Conference has adopted a modification
to MCC benefits to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The
inclusion of the LDA (Legally Domiciled Adults) benefit allows for the MCC
health plan to be both legally compliant and consistent with Church teaching.
The letters don't mention gays or the issue of same-sex relationships, but
state that the benefits will apply to anyone who meets the requirement of a
legally domiciled adult. The changes effectively mean that someone who is in
a sexual relationship with or married to someone of the same gender could get
health benefits from the Church. It also would apply to a friend, cousin,
sibling or parent who lives with the employee. The Michigan Catholic Conference
indicated that it will not investigate the sexual activities or behaviors
of those applying for the new LDA coverage to find out whether someone is in a
same-sex relationship. 'The Church's teaching on marriage and human sexuality
is not changing,' said Dave Maluchnik, director of communications for the
Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC). 'The only reason MCC is making this
eligibility
modification to its health benefit policy is to be consistent with Catholic
teaching on marriage ' one man and one woman. Going forward, relationship will
not be an evaluative criterion for including another individual (LDA) as a
recipient of MCC's health benefit. And none of this changes Catholic teaching;
it complies with federal law, as it is, in 2016. This is the world in which we
now live. The only other options for the MCC to keep in line with the law
as well as Catholic teachings would be to remove all health care coverage or
remove spousal coverage, both of which would hurt employees, and so weren't
seen as viable. The LDA option came about because the legalization of same-sex
marriage last year put the views of the federal government in conflict with
the Catholic Church. 'As such, sections of the IRS Tax Code, Title VII of the
federal Civil Rights Act and EEOC regulations all now have an impact upon
the provision of health benefits,' Maluchnik said. Currently, the health
insurance plans for Catholic employees include coverage for spouses and children
of marriages between one man and one woman, in accordance with Catholic
teachings. By including the LDA coverage, the Catholic Church can keep in
compliance
with federal law, while not explicitly advocating same-sex relations. For
example, a gay employee of the Catholic Church in Michigan who is married to
another man might be able to get health care coverage now under the LDA
benefit. He would not be eligible to get it under the spousal benefit. LGBT
Catholic
advocates praised the move by Catholic leaders in Michigan. 'This is a good
step forward,' said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry,
a group in Maryland near Washington, D.C., which promotes equality and justice
for LGBT people in the Catholic Church and society. However, DeBernardo
said the changes stop short of what their group is hoping for, the acceptance
of same-sex relations and marriage, which the Church opposes. 'It's not ideal,'
DeBernardo said. 'I wish the Catholic Church would recognize they could do this
by explicitly supporting same-sex couples. The changes by the Catholic
Church in Michigan comes as Catholic universities and hospitals also adjust
their health care policies. In some cases, there are reports of gay Catholic
employees being denied benefits or removed from their positions. DeBernardo
said the move by the Michigan Catholic Conference echoes what happened in 1997
in the Archdiocese in San Francisco, which has a sizable LGBT community. The
Archdiocese agreed to add the LDA benefit as a compromise after the city
threatened
to stop its contracts with them for social services over not including gay
partners in their employee health care coverage. Other dioceses across the U.S.
are now considering similar changes, said Maluchnik. The new LDA benefit might
potentially upset some conservatives, but the letter to the pastors says:
'The decision was made following an extensive analysis conducted by the
National Catholic Bioethics Center and in consultation with attorneys
responsible
for the legality of the MCC health plan. Based in Philadelphia, the bioethics
center's board includes Catholic bishops and is currently chaired by the
Archbishop of New Orleans. Ned McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of
Detroit, said, 'The eligibility modification means the health benefit, going
forward,
will be based on residency, not relationships. 'The Detroit archdiocese does
not currently inquire of its job applicants and/or its employees about their
sexual inclinations. And we will continue that practice going forward. Contact
Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter
@nwarikoo
