Complaint demands clinic take racism out of its operations

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has announced it is pursuing a federal civil rights complaint against the Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic because of racism that is embedded in its programs.

WILL explains the case focuses on its Minority Stroke Program and the Minority Men’s Health Center.

“Both programs provide education, prevention, treatment, and other assistance and resources to patients for addressing stroke, diabetes, and other stroke risk factors, men’s health conditions, and mental health issues,” the organization explains.

“Unfortunately, the programs are apparently not for everyone. As Cleveland Clinic explains it, these special programs are specifically purposed for ‘preventing and treating [health conditions] in racial and ethnic minorities.’ According to the clinic, under these programs, the ‘overall components’ for patient appointments ‘resemble those offered to all patients [except that] they are tailored to minorities.'”

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The issue cited by the legal team is that “under Title VI and the Affordable Care Act” healthcare providers like the clinic are barred from trying to segregate or otherwise offer separate services based on race.

“Cleveland Clinic may not implement racial preferences, or programs that are racially motivated, to provide services or benefits in a different manner from those provided to others,” the organization said.

WILL lawyer Cara Tolliver pointed out, “The problem with Cleveland Clinic’s racial persona grata / persona non grata model is that it engages the dangerous practice of using race as a proxy for legitimate health risks. Whether a particular patient should be prioritized, promoted, pursued, and included for medical assistance and care does not change simply because a patient is the wrong color. Cleveland Clinic’s endeavor to create a dichotomy of care that assumes what individuals need based on their race is both inappropriate and illegal.”

The case in on behalf of the organization called Do No Harm, and its chief, Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, said, “Race-based discrimination and segregation of patients degrades trust in the healthcare system and is illegal. The laudable goals set forth by the Cleveland Clinic’s special programs to assist patients struggling with strokes, diabetes, mental health, and other health concerns can and should be achieved without racial bias.”

WILL continued, “Race-based health equity initiatives, like Cleveland Clinic’s programs, aim to filter and view health outcomes through a racial lens, assuming that one’s race says all the doctor needs to know about who needs medical care the most. However, beyond race, any number of demographic filters could be applied concerning almost any characteristic to compare and address health outcomes—to name a few: height, eye color, birth order, handedness, entertainment preferences, where one lives, etc. This does not mean that these demographics, or every available demographic, are appropriate, relevant, comprehensive, or lawful standards for evaluating and addressing health outcomes.”

The clinic should be extending its treatment options to “all patients who need it, without regard to race,” the WILL organization said, “given that stroke and diabetes are leading causes of death in the United States, and that mental health conditions plague more than one in five adults.”

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