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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) to compel the release of records related to the Biden Administration’s infusion of “equity” into the nation’s organ transplantation system.
Shortly after taking office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” to institutionalize his administration’s “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) agenda across the federal government. This Executive Order directed federal agencies to conduct an “Equity Assessment” to identify whether underserved communities and their members face systemic barriers to participating in federal programs and to produce an equity action plan for addressing those alleged barriers. In response, in December 2021, CMS issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comments to “Advance Equity and Reduce Disparities in Organ Transplantation.” In January 2022, HRSA announced new data reporting protocols to highlight the race and ethnicity of transplant recipients. Two months later, HRSA announced a “modernization initiative” that would “strengthen ... equity ... in the organ donation and transplantation system.”
On April 3, 2023, AFL filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking documents relevant to the Biden Administration’s plans for infusing racial equity into the organ transplantation system. Despite acknowledging AFL’s request, these agencies have not produced a single responsive document since the requests were submitted more than two years ago. AFL is now suing to enforce this request and expose the Biden Administration’s plan to prioritize organ transplants based on race and ethnicity instead of clinical need.
This lawsuit is part of AFL’s broader campaign to dismantle the Biden Administration’s DEI infrastructure and restore Merit-Based Medicine to America’s healthcare system.
“The Biden Administration infected the federal government with ‘equity,’ replacing traditional principles of fairness and need with race-conscious criteria,” said Will Scolinos, America First Legal Counsel. “The last administration’s pervasive directives requiring consideration of immutable characteristics like race, color, and ethnicity — to make healthcare more ‘equitable’ — should concern all Americans. AFL is determined to uncover the complete scope of Biden-era DEI policies and will continue to take decisive action to restore colorblind healthcare.”
Read the complaint here.
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