Lawmakers defend hospital’s religious liberty

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) led 31 Senators and Representatives on a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, and The Joint Commission President Jonathan Perlin regarding religious liberties for hospitals participating in the Medicare program.

Recent threats to the Medicare status of a faithbased hospital in Oklahoma have raised concerns that CMS is unfairly targeting institutions with religious affiliations. These threats echo the rise in discrimination against faith-based organizations across the country. This letter asks how CMS handles the evaluation of religiously affiliated health care organizations, as well as how CMS has changed its policies under the Biden Administration. It is critical that this process protects the health and safety of the patients seeking care at CMS-approved facilities and does not reflect political or religious bias.

“CMS inexplicably threatened to revoke Saint Francis Hospital’s accreditation because of a religious eternal flame, which is unrelated to healthcare,” said Lankford. “St. Francis is a Catholic hospital seeking to serve all who need care in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the surrounding region. This was a violation of religious freedom—a bedrock of our nation’s founding. Our Oklahoma delegation immediately worked to stop this injustice and was thankfully successful. The sight of an eternal flame is to give hope—we will not allow any federal agency to extinguish Oklahomans’ right to exercise their freedom of religion—especially in a time of need. We are continuing the work to ensure this doesn’t happen anywhere or to anyone else.”

“Many of the health care institutions in our nation have roots in the church,” said Hern. “Religious organizations have long played a key role in the care of their communities, something that should be encouraged and celebrated. Recent moves from the Biden Administration to target and threaten hospitals and health care facilities because of their religious affiliations threatens the medical care that millions of Americans depend on. We need answers from the Biden Administration. I’m glad my colleagues are joining Senator Lankford and me in this important effort.”

Signers of the letter include Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), JD Vance (R-OH), Mike Lee (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Rick Scott (R-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Mike Braun (RIN) and Representatives Josh Brecheen (R-OK-02), Stephanie Bice (R-OK-05), Daniel Webster (R-FL11), Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06), Austin Scott (RGA-08), Gary Palmer (R-AL-06), Rick Allen (R-GA-12), Brian Babin (R-TX-36), Jeff Duncan (RSC-03) and Chris Smith (R-NJ-04).