Dive Brief:
- Washington state is mulling new regulations intended to let consumers know if hospitals are governed by religious policies in how they provide care.
- The proposed rules come in the wake of several affiliations between Catholic healthcare organizations and secular organizations, relationships which could change the secular organizations' policies toward certain types of care.
- Hospitals have said that developing a list of services would be too complex and possibly misleading, according to the Seattle Times.
Dive Insight:
With so many hospitals operating on razor-thin margins, and also, in need of strong relationships to deliver ACO-like regional care, hospital partnerships, mergers and acquisitions are only likely to increase. If this means that secular hospitals end up adapting religious strictures -- such as a ban on abortions -- it seems reasonable to let the public know what to expect.