CNA Staff, Nov 28, 2025 /
07:00 am
Two Texas pro-lifers are launching a health care plan that embraces Catholic life ethics, creating an ethical option for Christians.
Health insurance companies often cover things that are in tension with Catholic Church teaching or a Christian pro-life ethic, such as abortion, contraceptives, or assisted suicide.
Daniel Cruz and Bob Hogan founded the FortressPlan by Presidio Healthcare because they wanted a pro-life, Christian alternative.
“FortressPlan,” which launched in November, does not cover any health care offerings that go against Catholic teaching.
While making a start in Texas, the co-founders hope to expand across the U.S.
Hogan, co-founder of Presidio and an alum of Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, said that health care sharing ministries “are largely unregulated and are not legally required to pay families’ medical bills,” which can “cause tremendous financial stress for families.”
As a more realistic alternative, he and Cruz “set out to create a real insurance company,” Hogan said in a statement shared with CNA.
Cruz spoke with CNA about the Catholic values behind the FortressPlan.
CNA: What makes Presidio Healthcare’s FortressPlan unique among insurance options in the U.S.?
Daniel Cruz: The FortressPlan stands out as the only health insurance plan that aligns with the culture of life. Unlike other insurers, it does not cover abortifacients, contraception, transgender treatments or surgeries, euthanasia, in vitro fertilization, or similar practices.
What makes the Fortress Plan pro-life and Christian? What inspired you to align the plan with the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services”?
Presidio Healthcare Insurance Company is the first health insurer in the United States to be filed as a Catholic entity. Designed to respect the dignity of every person, the FortressPlan aligns with the “Ethical and Religious Directives [ERDs] for Catholic Health Care Services.”
The ERDs represent a formally recognized expression of Catholic moral doctrine, protected under federal conscience and religious-freedom laws, which allows us to operate in the private market with an authentically Catholic health plan. A major element of our mission is to promote life-affirming physicians and services, and the ERDs serve as a concrete guide to help us accomplish that aim.
What inspired you to launch the pro-life Christian health insurance option, the FortressPlan? What challenges have you faced in launching it?
I was approached by a former client to estimate the cost of an abortion for their health plan. This request ignited a passion to apply my skills as an actuary in a different direction.
After discovering that no insurance companies were entirely pro-life or that sharing ministries fell short of offering true financial protection for families, I decided to establish the first pro-life Christian insurance company.
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What are your future goals for the FortressPlan and this movement toward pro-life, Christian insurance? How do you hope it will impact people?
Our future objectives include expanding nationwide and entering both the ACA [Affordable Care Act] and employer markets, building a well-recognized brand that represents Christian health care.
Kate Quiñones is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency and a fellow of the College Fix. She has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Denver Catholic Register, and CatholicVote, and she graduated from Hillsdale College. She lives in Colorado with her husband.
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