The Department of Health and Human Services is backing down on threats to pull government funding from Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, Okla., after previously tying funding to extinguishing an eternal gas-powered flame that regulators said is a safety hazard.
After the hospital threatened legal action, the government reversed course, amid what Biden administration critics says is its aggressive regulatory actions against the Catholic Church.
“The government has seen the light and has abandoned its attempt to force an Oklahoma hospital to blow out a small candle or stop serving elderly, disabled and low-income patients,” said Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund public interest legal group.
At stake are Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funding.