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A recently released 2016 update found that 14.5 percent of all acute care hospitals are now Catholic-owned or affiliated (up from 11.2 percent in 2001. So, what does that look like in the exam room? Read the investigation: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/...

And find the full transcript below.

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TRANSCRIPT
Wednesday, June 22, 2016

ERICA HELLERSTEIN, ThinkProgress: Today, one in every six patients in the U.S. receives care at a Catholic hospital.

More and more hospitals across the country are affiliated with the Catholic health system, but patients don’t always know what that means.

So what does Catholic health care actually look like?

Well, most of the hospitals are nonprofit corporations, so they benefit from public funding, like state and federal family planning programs and Medicare and Medicaid.

And while the hospitals are not directly controlled by the Catholic Church, the doctors have to follow 72 rules written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops: the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.

The bible instructs Christians to provide for those in need -- and the directives do as well. They mandate care for the poor, elderly, and sick, regardless of insurance.

But there are also certain procedures that are prohibited by the directives, including

abortion, even when the mother’s health is at risk,

assisted reproduction of any kind, like egg and sperm donation, in vitro fertilization, or surrogacy,

contraception -- assuming you're not married and looking for natural family planning,

and sterilization operations like tubal ligation and vasectomies.

Oh, and doctors can’t honor advance directives that conflict with Catholic teaching, so assisted suicide or declining life support is out of the question.

At a time when hospitals across the country are struggling to stay open, the Catholic healthcare system is providing care for communities that might not otherwise have any.

But, patients at those hospitals might not have access to the services they need.