In recent days, Minnesota and Utah have scrapped protocols that allowed doctors to consider race when determining who should qualify for certain COVID treatments.
New York state is facing a new lawsuit over a similar policy.
The federal lawsuit was filed by America First Legal, a conservative organization that alleges that the state’s policy is “racist and unconstitutional.” The organization also issued warnings to Minnesota and Utah about their protocols last week, the Associated Press reported.
The organization’s complaint, dated January 16, mentions a memo issued by the New York Department of Health on December 27 stating that COVID antiviral medications are authorized for patients who meet a variety of criteria including “a medical condition or other factors that increase their risk for severe illness.”
The memo says: “Non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.”
On January 12, health officials in Minnesota removed race as a factor that medical professionals could use to determine which COVID patients can receive limited monoclonal antibody treatments. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the policy shift occurred the same day that America First Legal threatened to sue Utah and Minnesota.