Apr 03, 2001
Court Allows Aid to Christian Science Church Health Center
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(AP) _ The Supreme Court allowed continued federal funding for Christian Science nursing care Monday. The court, without comment, turned down an appeal that claimed Medicare and Medicaid payments to church-run health centers violate the constitutional separation of church and state. A taxpayer group has tried for years to stop the medical payments, arguing that the church relies on faith healing, not traditional medicine.
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, teaches that prayer is the most effective treatment for illness and that conventional medicine is incompatible with spiritual healing. Although Christian Science nurses use no drugs or conventional medical treatments, they have received millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements since the mid-1960s. Church officials say the money pays for general nonmedical care such as bandages and bedpans, but not prayer.
Medicare and Medicaid, which provide health care for the elderly, disabled and poor, ordinarily pay for nonmedical services only as they relate to medical care http://news.findlaw.com/ap/a/w/1154/4-2-2001/20010402140132360.html
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