Patrick Patrick Rooney

J. Patrick Rooney Insurance Executive and Civic Leader (80) died Monday, September 15, 2008. Mr. Rooney was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Rule Insurance Company for over two decades during which he built the company into one of the nation's leaders in the health insurance market. Golden Rule became the largest insurer of individual health insurance policies in the country. In 1976, Mr. Rooney led a fight against discrimination in insurance agent testing with an eight-year lawsuit against the State of Illinois and the Educational Testing Service. The suit charged intentional discrimination against minority applicants. The Civil Rights case was settled with a precedent-setting agreement that required a new method of constructing exams to eliminate unnecessary racial disparities. An advocate of worthy social causes, Mr. Rooney created the first privately funded scholarship program to enable low-income children to go to any school their parents chose. That occurred in August 1991, when Golden Rule Insurance Company announced that it would pay half of the tuition for 500 low-income children in Indianapolis who qualified for the government's subsidized lunch program. Out of this commitment came the Educational CHOICE Charitable Trust which succeeded in enlarging the scholarship program to over 2,000 children per year in Indianapolis. This program has been replicated in over 80 U.S. cities. After retiring from Golden Rule Insurance Company, Mr. Rooney acquired Medical Savings Insurance Company, where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. A pioneer in health care, Mr. Rooney gained national prominence in 1991-1992 with his proposals for solving the nation's health care crisis. He was recognized as the "Father of Medical Savings Accounts" (later called Health Savings Accounts), an approach he thought would control medical costs while providing Americans with access to affordable health care based on tax fairness. This practice became national policy with the passing of the Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996. Mr. Rooney created The Fairness Foundation as a means to help people in need, particularly the uninsured who struggle with substantial medical bills. In recognition of his civic work, Indiana State University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Law in 2006. Mr. Rooney coauthored the 2008 book: America's Health Care Crisis Solved. Survivors include his wife, Karen G. Hall; three daughters: Therese Rooney (husband Brian Shuff), Cathy Rooney (husband Rick Moyer), and Christine Merchent (husband Mike Merchent) of Indianapolis; and one son, Andrew Rooney of Lakeland, Florida; seven grandchildren: Greg and Julia Shuff; Nathan, Allison and Christopher Moyer; Clay and Asher Merchent; and two sisters, Julia Margaret Ladner (husband Frank Ladner) of Lawrenceville, Illinois, and Mary Kathryn Kunkel (husband Ray Kunkel) of Vincennes, Indiana. Pallbearers are his sons-in law: Brian Shuff, Rick Moyer and Mike Merchent; grandsons: Greg Shuff, Nate and Christopher Moyer, Clay and Asher Merchent; and Kevin Caspersen; Honorary Pallbearers are grand-daughters: Julia Shuff and Alliy Moyer. The following arrangements have been made with Stuart Mortuary: Visitation will be Wednesday, September 17, 2008, from 4-8 p.m. at his parish of 25 years, Holy Angels Catholic Church with a Prayer Service at 7 p.m. The church is located at 740 W. 28th Street, Indianapolis, IN. The Funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at St. Monica's Catholic Church, 6131 N Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN, Thursday, September 18 at 10 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the Fairness Foundation, which assists the uninsured, at 5767 W. 74th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46278.