 |
 |
|
Wins Discrimination Case 'We Have Frustrated the State's Effort to Silence Us!' $250,000 Settlement Thwarts State 'Health' Spies |
|
Compiled by GayToday
Los Angeles, California -- The State of California has agreed to a
$250,000 settlement of a federal lawsuit brought by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation
(AHF), the nation's largest HIV/AIDS medical provider.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed its lawsuit in a Federal Court in May 1997 following an ongoing and widespread pattern of punishment and surveillance of the Foundation by the California Department of Health Services (DHS) that had been prompted by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's legitimate--and often outspoken--political advocacy on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS.
Intimidating providers was a hallmark of the regime under State Health Director Kim Belshe, a Wilson appointee. In a move designed to punish AHF for its political advocacy, DHS Director Brenda Klutz ordered that the required oversight of AHF by the DHS be transferred from its Los Angeles County office to its Orange County office. Klutz conceded that this decision to transfer was made because she had learned that the "staff of AHF, including its President, Michael Weinstein, were very active and effective at lobbying..." The Department of Health Services' punishing of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for having exercised its First Amendment rights was compounded by the fact that DHS then hid the true reason for transfering AHF's licenses to Orange County and refused to disclose it until compelled to do so by court order. When finally forced to reveal the true reasons for the transfer, Brenda Klutz stated that the Department repeatedly lied to AHF in order to "avoid embarrassment" for Michael R. Gaddy, Chief of the Department's Provider Certification Unit, and other lower level DHS staff involved. In addition, as both sides worked out the settlement agreement, AHF noted the following:
-- February 7, 1995. A DHS e-mail referred to an, "AHF situation alert" and
asked, "how do we account for the heavy political support that (Michael)
Weinstein (the President of AHF) holds?" It further stated that DHS had a
confidential position regarding AHF and its activities.
-- February 1996. Carl Bean House, an AIDS hospice, was cited for only treating AIDS patients. -- April 21, 1997. Linn House, another AHF hospice, was again denied participation in the Medi-Cal program on the ground that the LINN HOUSE administrator was not licensed as a nursing home administrator, despite the fact that the Department's own surveyors, in the November, 1996 survey, admitted that LINN HOUSE was not required to employ a licensed nursing administrator. -- July 9, 1997. AHF was advised that but for its failure to employ a licensed nursing home administrator, Linn House would have been certified. "This settlement is a victory for the First Amendment," said AHF's Weinstein. "This settlement allows AHF to do what it does best: care for those with HIV and AIDS." |
