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N.Y. Times Co. v. HHS, No. 21-211, 2021 WL 4468405 (2d Cir. Sept. 30, 2021) (per curiam)

Date

N.Y. Times Co. v. HHS, No. 21-211, 2021 WL 4468405 (2d Cir. Sept. 30, 2021) (per curiam)

Re:  Request for contractor's report that reviewed Indian Health Service ("IHS") policies and procedures regarding reporting of allegations of sexual abuse of IHS patients by IHS clinical staff

Disposition:  Affirming district court's grant of requester's motion for summary judgment

  • Exemption 3:  "[The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit] hold[s] that the . . . report evaluating IHS's management and administration is not a 'medical quality assurance record' under [Section 805 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1675]."  The court relates that "§ 1675 'refers to particular types of [records] to be withheld,' [specifically] 'medical quality assurance records' [which] are 'specifically exempted from disclosure by statute' under FOIA's Exemption 3."  "[The court] interpret[s] § 1675(a)(2)'s requirement that a 'medical quality assurance record' emanate from an 'activity carried out . . . to assess the quality of medical care' based on 'the plain language of the statute, giving the statutory terms their ordinary or natural meaning. ' "  "Accordingly, 'assess' is defined as:  'to make a judgment about (something).' "  "And 'quality' is defined as:  'degree of excellence.'"  "The Parties dispute the proper scope of the statutory phrase 'medical care.'"  "The Department asserts that it is broad and includes avoiding sexual abuse of patients."  "Plaintiffs counter that, to the extent it includes patient safety, it refers only to preventing medical errors."  "For purposes of this appeal, [the court] assume[s] without deciding that the Department's broader definition is accurate, and that an activity, such as an investigation, carried out to make a judgment about IHS's degree of excellence in avoiding sexual abuse of patients would be exempt from disclosure under § 1675."  "The report does not make such a judgment."  "While it makes a judgment about the degree of excellence of IHS administration, it does not evaluate the medical care IHS provides."  "The report focuses on administrative errors:  errors in management, reporting, investigation, and communication, including by specific administrators."  "And it suggests changes to improve IHS's practices and policies."  "But the report's conclusion that IHS responded poorly to some examples of inadequate medical care is different from an evaluation of the caliber of medical care provided at IHS hospitals."  "The report does not link IHS's administrative errors to the incidence of sexual abuse of patients."  "Nor does it link these errors to the quality of other aspects of medical care at IHS hospitals."  Additionally, the court finds "that the report may contribute to improved medical care is beside the point."  "The same is conceivably true for all activities by IHS and its affiliates, but § 1675 protects from disclosure only activities that 'assess the quality of medical care.'"
Court Decision Topic(s)
Court of Appeals opinions
Exemption 3
Updated October 28, 2021