A Midwest hospital chain has terminated the practice of using race as the determining factor for prioritizing certain individuals for COVID-19 treatment, according to a Friday announcement.
SSM Health, a Catholic hospital chain operating 23 hospitals, ceased prioritizing individuals for coronavirus treatment by race after it received a legal threat from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, according to a report.
Attorneys for the group sent a letter to the hospital chain, informing SSM Health that it is unlawful to distribute monoclonal antibody products on the basis of race, according to the letter.
WATCH: DANA WHITE SPARS WITH REPORTER WHO ASKS, ‘ARE YOU A DOCTOR?’
Nonwhite patients under the care of SSM Health had been given a 7-point head start on their risk scores, making them more likely than white patients to receive critical medical treatments, the report noted.
“For example, a 50-year-old white female [15 points] suffering from obesity (1 point), asthma (1 point), and hypertension [1 point] would not be eligible for mAbs because she does not receive the 20-point minimum score under the calculator,” the letter stated.
“On the other hand, an otherwise healthy 50-year-old African-American female [22 points], without any of these health risks, would be eligible.”
“The approach taken by your calculator is not only profoundly unethical and immoral, it is illegal,” the legal group wrote.
SSM Health announced that the scoring calculator described in the group’s letter is no longer in use, according to the Friday announcement.
“While early versions of risk calculators across the nation appropriately included race and gender criteria based on initial outcomes, SSM Health has continued to evaluate and update our protocols weekly to reflect the most up-to-date clinical evidence available,” the statement read.
“As a result, race and gender criteria are no longer utilized. The internal memo cited by WILL inadvertently referenced an expired calculator.”
The hospital chain had previously attempted to justify the race-based policy.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on low income communities and certain racial/ethnic minorities in the United States,” said a Dec. 31 email.
