Complaint filed against AMA Foundation for racially discriminatory scholarships

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(The Center Square) – Medical group Do No Harm filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against the American Medical Association Foundation, questioning whether the organization should lose its tax-exempt status due to several racially-discriminatory scholarships it offers.

Do No Harm Chief Medical Officer Kurt Miceli told The Center Square: “Racially discriminatory scholarships are unlawful and morally wrong, to say nothing of the negative impact they have on public confidence in our medical system.”

“Based on the evidence in our complaint, we believe the IRS should revoke the AMA Foundation’s tax-exempt status for operating a racially discriminatory program,” Miceli said.

“The AMA’s obsession with identity politics is no secret, and it should be held accountable for allowing race to dictate applicants’ eligibility for valuable and lucrative learning opportunities,” Miceli said.

“If the AMA Foundation wants to retain its federal tax advantage, it must open its scholarships to applicants of all races,” Miceli said. 

Neither the IRS, nor the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation have responded to The Center Square’s individual requests for comment.

The AMA Foundation is “the philanthropic arm of the American Medical Association,” according to Do No Harm.

The racially discriminatory scholarships in question are found in the Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship program, funded and overseen by the AMA Foundation, a Do No Harm press release said.

Several of the scholarships in the program “explicitly discriminate based on race and violate established public policy and civil rights laws forbidding racial discrimination,” the press release said.

The release said that “under Supreme Court precedent, having even one unlawful policy under 26 U.S.C § 501(c)(3), including a racially discriminatory policy, makes the entire organization ineligible for tax-exempt status.”

Scholarships in the Physicians of Tomorrow program are awarded to third-year medical students, while most of the scholarships include “prizes of up to $10,000 along with national recognition and access to resources and support.”

One of the scholarships – the Dr. Richard Allen Williams & Genita Evengelista Johnson/Association of Black Cardiologists Scholarship – awards “$5,000 to medical students interested in cardiology but only if they are ‘African American/Black,’” according to Do No Harm.

Meanwhile, the Underrepresented in Medicine Scholarship “awards $10,000 to winners who are ‘African American/Black, Latine/Hispanic or Indigenous (American Indian, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native)’” – excluding several large racial groups.

The The Patricia L. Austin Family Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship “awards $10,000 to winners and explicitly requires applicants to be ‘of Eastern European descent,’” Do No Harm stated.

In its letter to the IRS, Do No Harm said that “there is no question that the AMA Foundation’s scholarships are racially discriminatory.”

Do No Harm called the AMA Foundation’s scholarships outlined above “textbook discrimination,” stating that they are “unlawful and contrary to public policy.”

“In sum, an investigation is warranted,” the letter said. “If the AMA Foundation wishes to avoid such an investigation and maintain its tax-exempt status, it can simply open each of its scholarships and any similar programs to all races.”