Some religious denominations operate managed care plans.
These plans sometimes refuse to provide coverage for contraception, sterilizations, abortions and other services. This refusal to cover basic women's reproductive services creates special problems for poor women, whose insurance coverage is provided through Medicaid managed care. As more and more states steer Medicaid recipients into managed care plans in order to save money, increasing numbers of women are finding themselves unwittingly enrolled in plans that refuse to cover reproductive services or even to provide counseling or referrals. One such Medicaid managed care program, New York's Catholic-sponsored Fidelis Care, does not cover contraceptive services or counseling, sterilizations or abortions. But, Fidelis will not provide direct referrals for patients to these Medicaid providers.