Second Quarter 2006 Progress

Dear CMF Friends:

I urgently need your financial help. The Christus Medicus Foundation (CMF) has made great progress -- and with your prayers and additional financial help can continue to provide the leadership in creating values-centered health plan options to all Americans through employer based, association, state and federal health plans.

Please Make Your Donation Today!
Please take a moment and read this letter and the enclosed reference letters from Richard Doerflinger, Deputy Director of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB), and Dr. Steve White, President of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA). Your donation of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000 is needed immediately. Since the inception of CMF, each of the above amounts has been given by individuals and/or organizations. We all have different capabilities of giving, so all I ask is that you be as generous as possible in order that CMF can continue to find ways of giving Americans the freedom to finance a healthcare "culture of life".

Congress Threatens Freedom in Healthcare - Mandates Contraception!
The year was 1998, and I was asked by the USCCB if I could identify any large group health insurer that did not pay for abortion. The USCCB was attempting to defeat EPICC (Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraception Coverage), a bill that mandated all Federal employee health plans pay for all FDA approved contraception, which included chemicals and devices that induce abortion. This was just the beginning of forcing Catholics and other faith-based groups to subsidize nationally a "culture of death" and further undermine parental rights.

Private Health Insurers Quietly Fund Abortion!
Our goal was to defeat EPICC by demonstrating that insurance companies did not see abortion and contraception as healthcare. Neither the USCCB nor I were able to identify a large group national health insurance company that did not pay for abortion. Although EPICC passed for Federal employees, the USCCB was able to influence Congress to include a conscience exemption that allowed insurance companies with religious convictions an exemption to the EPICC Federal mandate.

CMF Is Established to Fight for a Healthcare "Culture of Life"!
Numerous state contraceptive mandates were also surfacing that would further threaten conscience and parental rights. In 1999, I founded the Christus Medicus Foundation (CMF) to become a national watchdog and advocate for freedom in healthcare. The goal of our new Foundation was to counter this threat to freedom by educating religious leaders, policymakers, healthcare professionals and the American public on the need for conscience and parental rights protection, tax fairness and the freedom to select health plans that are affordable and consistent with faith-based values.

CMF Drives New Leadership to Protect Faith-Based Healthcare!
Finally after years of education and leadership provided by CMF, OSF HealthPlans and Advantage Health Solutions, in partnership with the ValuSure Corporation, use Federal conscience exemption to offer Federal employees a faith-based health plan with Health Savings Accounts in central Illinois and Indiana.

Additional Ways CMF Has Changed the Face of Healthcare!

• Co-founded the Healthcare Right of Conscience Working Group in DC, which resulted in the passage of the Abortion Non-discrimination-Act of 2002
• Worked together with the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) to get President Bush to protect parental rights in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Disseminated information to the general public, religious leaders and public policy makers and engaged in other educational activities, including lectures, seminars, and panels to create tax fairness through Health Savings Account plans.
• Collaborated with RTL of Michigan, Michigan Catholic Conference of Bishops, and Rep. Scott Hummel in the passage of health care right of conscience protection H.B. 4745-46, and bills 1980 PA 350 and 1956 PA 218, "the insurance code of 1956. The House passed the bills on 4/26/06.

To add to its list of accomplishments, CMF is planning the sponsorship of a new Association Health Insurance Plan for its members that shall at all time be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the beliefs of the Magisterial teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and Ethical and Religious Directives of Catholic Healthcare Services, as approved by the US Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB). To have this new Health Plan in place by Oct 1, CMF urgently needs your help in raising $50,000 by August 15 to cover our expenses: Please mail your donation in the enclosed envelope after you read this letter. Time is of the essence. I am sending this letter to 250 individuals who have been very generous to our past work. If each makes a $200 contribution, we will meet our financial needs. My newly married daughter, Katie Allwein, will be contacting you by phone shortly after you receive this letter, but not later than Aug. 10. This exciting new Association Health Plan can go along way to help the uninsured, underinsured, self employed and create a New Healthcare "Culture of Life". I recognize that there may be those that can't afford this amount, which I totally understand. If you can give more, please be as generous as possible to offset those that can't give. Since CMF is a 501(c)(3), all gifts are tax deductible.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Please continue to pray for us. Our prayers are with you.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Michael J. O'Dea
Executive Director

P.S. CMF is also working hard to educate our policymakers in DC of the need for legislation like Rep. Shadegg's Health Care Choice Act, H.R. 2355, that will allow all Americans the ability to select a health plan that is more affordable and consistent with their religious convictions.