A Cautionary Tale Revisited

Nearly 20 years ago, Fr. Richard McCormick, SJ, PhD, asked if Catholic health care could live out its mission in the current health care environment, which, at the time, he described as having the following characteristics: medicine as business, depersonalized care, cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, impoverished public hospitals, rampant mergers and competition, obsolescence of the hospital and threatened pastoral care.¹ I wrote an article reflecting on McCormick’s question and ended it, unlike McCormick himself, by expressing hope that mission was still possible for us within Catholic health care despite the various challenges.² Looking back on that article with the wisdom of hindsight, I am, paradoxically, more and less hopeful today than I was at the time. Let me explain and attempt to offer some constructive comments as well.