At Catholic hospitals, a mission of charity runs up against high care costs for patients

By Rachana Pradhan | KFF Health News

When Jessica Staten’s kidney stones wouldn’t pass, she said, her doctor suggested a procedure to “blow ’em up.” She went to have it done last November at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, one of nine hospitals that the Catholic health system PeaceHealth operates in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

“I was probably there a total of 3½ hours, and everything went well,” said Staten, who works as an accountant and has health insurance.