Dr. Kurt Miceli says Do No Harm filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights because the JPS (John Peter Smith) Health Network in Texas is engaged in unlawful race discrimination.
"The JPS Health Network, also known as Tarrant County Hospital District, is … soliciting proposals for healthcare strategy consultants in a manner that uses race as part of its evaluation of vendors," he reports.
The criteria, Dr. Miceli says, is what one would expect for the most part: the reputation of the vendor, the degree to which the service is aligned with what JPS needs, and the quality. But the "diversity enterprise participation" is where race comes into play.
"If the respondent is a certified woman, minority, or veteran-owned business enterprise, you just submit a certificate validating such," the Do No Harm medical director details. "If you aren't that, then you would need to document good faith efforts to subcontract with such businesses."
Applicants must effectively demonstrate their commitment to supplier diversity, regardless of any factors related to merit and the like. Even once selected, a vendor submits to JPS's perpetual evaluation of its minority participation. Any that fails to meet whatever standard of race-consciousness JPS considers appropriate can be blackballed from future contract opportunities with the Tarrant County Hospital District.
Dr. Miceli says this violates the Civil Rights Act related to Title VI, which bars discrimination on the grounds of race under any program—any activity that receives federal dollars. It is also a violation of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which says health programs and activities cannot discriminate based on race.
"Aside from being illegal, this is really un-American," Dr. Miceli adds. "We are a society that values hard work, excellence, individual achievement."
He says those qualities have made the U.S. "the envy of the world," and focusing on people's immutable characteristics degrades that.
"It becomes very divisive and discriminatory," he asserts.
Do No Harm is asking the Office of Civil Rights to investigate their complaint and "hold JPS accountable."
