Talevski v. HHC-Threatening Human Liberty
A civil suit between the Talevski family and a company called the Health and Hospital Corporation could mean a change in federal protections against disrimination.
The lawsuit, in which the family of the now deceased Gorgi Talevski is seeking reparations for Georgi’s wrongful death and medical abuse, could redefine the laws around discrimination and could mean minorities in America losing our right to sue entirely.
HHC, the defendants in this suit, are trying to push for legislature that would remove the ability to sue any group under the Spending Clause, which includes:
○ Medicaid
○ Medicare
○ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
○ Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
○ Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
○ Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act
○ Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Preventive Act Provisions
○ McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Programs, Education for Homeless
Children and Youth Program
The Supreme Court’s decision on this matter could not just affect this, but could cause permanent damage to Section 1983 of the US Code- meaning it could damage our ability to enforce civil liberties on a national scale. This means losing the ability to enforce:
○ Title IX , Education Amendments of 1972 (Bans discrimination on the basis of sex/gender)
○ Title VI , Civil Rights Act (Bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin)
○ Section 504 , Rehabilitation Act (Bans discrimination on the basis of disability)
And other forms of anti-discrimination law as well.
Without the ability to use lawsuits as a tool of enforcing anti-discrimination, the federal government loses their primary form of external accountability. They will be able to ‘internally investigate’, decide nothing wrong has been done, and screw over the vulnerable people of this country for a convenience.
Or, worse- they do find wrongdoing and withhold funding from the organization, damaging the infrastructure of the groups affected.
The rights of Medicaid beneficiaries and federal aid beneficiaries could be stripped entirely by this legislation.
Sooo… how do we stop this?
There are a few things you can do, provided by Bazelon and the Citizen Action Coalition!
You can contact the following HHC executives and tell them about why these federal safety net programs are important to you personally-
● Gregory S. Fehribach
○ Email: gfehribach@thefehribachgroup.com
○ Phone: (317) 638–2400
○ He created the Gregory S. Fehribach Center through Eskenazi Health. Let them know this case conflicts with the foundation’s mission of supporting young people with physical disabilities. Phone: 317–880–3324. Email:
larry.markle@eskenazihealth.edu
● Carl L. Drummer:
○ Email: cdrummer@taftlaw.com
○ Phone: (317) 713–9545
○ Twitter: @Bushwhacker11
● Robert W. Lazard:
○ Email: rlazard02@hotmail.com
○ Twitter: @LazardRW
● Dr. Geeta Karnik Mantravadi:
○ Email: geeta.karnik@gmail.com
○ Twitter: @geeta_karnik
● Monica Crain:
○ Emails: mcrainhhc@gmail.com | monica.payne@btlaw.com
○ LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcrainpaynehrleader/
● Thomas Hanify:
○ Email: tom@hanify.com
○ Twitter: @HanifyThomas
● Beverly Mukes-Gaither
○ Email: bmgclassy2@gmail.com
○ LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverly-mukes-gaither-2051a81b/
In addition, you can petition and speak out on the issue with the following:
●Visiting http://www.citact.org/hhc
● Texting HHC to 52886
● Contacting a Marion County City-County Council Member
● Watch & share our press conference testimony highlights here:
https://youtu.be/QWz_t13qEkM
● Watch & share Citizens Action Coalition’s call to action video here:
https://youtu.be/2EW3DQVFwiU
