Medical watchdog says AMA Foundation still awards racially discriminatory scholarships
Medical watchdog Do No Harm has expanded its complaint against the American Medical Association Foundation that concerned racially discriminatory scholarships it runs after the foundation appears to have resurrected some of the scholarships with slight revisions that Do No Harm says could still be considered worthy of tax-exempt revocation.
Chief medical officer at Do No Harm Dr. Kurt Miceli told The Center Square that “the AMA Foundation has done little to remedy the substantial problems identified in our original complaint regarding its Physicians of Tomorrow program.”
Do No Harm initially filed a complaint with the IRS in April questioning whether the AMA Foundation should lose its tax-exempt status for running scholarship programs that are only for certain racial or ethnic groups.
Miceli told The Center Square that months after this complaint, “race-based scholarships remain in place, having undergone only superficial changes.”
“For one such scholarship, replacing one racial preference with another does nothing to cure the underlying discrimination or end the harm that persists,” Miceli said.
Miceli refers to the AMA Foundation removing its racially discriminatory scholarships, but later revising one of them – the Austin Scholarship.
The original Austin Scholarship required applicants be of Eastern European descent, while the revised scholarship – under a slightly different name – states that “preference” is given to students “who are enrolled members of, or otherwise affiliated with, a federally recognized American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribe or group,” as explained in Do No Harm’s complaint and an AMA webpage.
The AMA Foundation and the IRS have not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.
Miceli told The Center Square that Do No Harm’s “complaint addendum provides evidence pointing to the Foundation’s reliance on proxies that obscure the continued use of racial preferences.”
Miceli refers to the Underrepresented in Medicine Scholarship that originally required applicants to be Black, Hispanic/Latino or “indigenous,” but now says it is open to “[s]tudents who come from economically disadvantaged and vulnerable communities and/or demonstrate a dedication to serving vulnerable or underserved populations,” according to the complaint.
Do No Harm alleges a problem still potentially exists as “that language is facially race-neutral,” and “there is evidence that the Foundation is using those categories as a proxy for prohibited race-based preferences.”
Miceli added: “Simply put, these valuable and lucrative scholarship opportunities cannot be awarded based on race.”
“The IRS should include the revised scholarships in any investigation related to Do No Harm’s original complaint and hold the Foundation accountable under federal law, which grants the organization a significant tax advantage at a cost ultimately borne by taxpayers,” Miceli said.
In its expanded complaint, Do No Harm said the AMA Foundation “appeared to discontinue its racially discriminatory scholarships,” but has since “resuscitated two of its race-based scholarships with only superficial tweaks.”
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