EXCLUSIVE — A national medical watchdog group has filed a federal civil rights complaint against a major hospital system in the heart of Texas, alleging that its diversity contracting policies illegally discriminate on the basis of race.
In a letter sent Monday to the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, the group Do No Harm accused the Tarrant County Hospital District, which operates as JPS Health Network, of violating federal anti-discrimination laws through its vendor selection process for consulting services.
JPS’s request for proposals for healthcare strategy consulting allegedly gives explicit preference to “minority, woman, and veteran-owned business enterprises” and requires other vendors to document “good-faith efforts” to subcontract with such firms, according to the complaint. The network also subjects contractors to ongoing evaluations of their “minority participation,” which Do No Harm says effectively penalizes white-owned businesses.
“This kind of blatant race discrimination is illegal,” the group wrote in a five-page complaint, citing the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which struck down race-based admissions practices at universities. “As a publicly funded hospital district subject to the Equal Protection Clause, JPS cannot use race as a factor in doling out professional opportunities.”
Do No Harm argues that JPS’s contracting policy violates multiple federal laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, which guarantees equal rights in contracting regardless of race. The group urged the HHS Office for Civil Rights to open an investigation and to consider referring the matter to the Justice Department. The Washington Examiner did not immediately receive a response from HHS when it asked about the complaint.
Stanley Goldfarb, MD, chairman at Do No Harm, said he is confident HHS “will take immediate action to hold JPS accountable.”
“JPS should prioritize consultants who enhance the network’s ability to provide high-quality care for patients, rather than vendors that merely fit an ideological checklist. We are confident HHS will take immediate action to hold JPS accountable,” Goldfarb added.
The complaint also alleges that JPS self-imposes a “25 percent good-faith target goal” for minority participation in contracting and claims the system “disfavors white vendors” who must “jump through additional hoops” to qualify.
“Illegal DEI programs like JPS’s solicitation not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding federal civil-rights laws,” the letter adds, quoting a January executive order from President Donald Trump, “but they also undermine our national unity.”
DEI WOVEN INTO PLANS FOR MAJOR SOUTH CAROLINA CITIES DRAWS SCRUTINY
JPS Health Network oversees more than 580 acute-care hospitals and 25 community health centers across Tarrant County, which encompasses the cities of Fort Worth and Arlington, has a population of over 2 million, and receives federal funds through various healthcare programs.
The hospital district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
