But actually it is. If you look at the medical practice act for most states, there is 9 times out of 10 a clause stating that hospitals, HMOs, and others cannot descriminate against physicians based on degree earned. The AOA was very aggressive politically and legally in these arenas way back in the 1960's. Your friend likely has legal recourse and I bet you there are a dozen lawyers who would be chomping at the bit to take a case like this because it is so straightforward...
For example, here's a recently revised nondescrimination law from Illinois:
(225 ILCS 62/5)
Sec. 5. Nondiscrimination.
(a) It is the policy of this State that holders of M.D. degrees and
D.O. degrees shall be accorded equal professional status and privileges
as physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches.
(b) It is the policy of this State that allopathic and osteopathic
health facilities shall be accorded equal status and privileges as
licensed hospitals.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no hospital
licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act, no health care service plan,
managed health care plan, health maintenance organization plan,
preferred provider plan, or managed competition plan, no policy of
disability insurance, no self-insured employer welfare benefit plan, no
health insurance purchasing cooperative, no other insurance policy,
plan, or arrangement for the purchase, payment, or reimbursement of
health care, and no agency of the State or of any municipality, county,
district, or other political subdivision of the State shall discriminate
with respect to employment, staff privileges, or the provision of, or
contracts for, professional services against a physician licensed to
practice medicine in all its branches on the basis of whether the
physician holds an M.D. or D.O. degree, his or her race, color, creed,
religion, sex, or national origin.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any hospital
licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act, whether allopathic or
osteopathic in identity, shall be deemed equal under the law. No health
care service plan, managed health care plan, health maintenance
organization plan, preferred provider plan, or managed competition plan,
no policy of disability insurance, no self-insured employer welfare
benefit plan, no health insurance purchasing cooperative, no other
insurance policy, plan, or arrangement for the purchase, payment, or
reimbursement of health care, and no agency of the State or of any
municipality, county, district, or other political subdivision of the
State shall discriminate with respect to the provision of, or contracts
for, health care or related services against a licensed hospital on the
basis of its identity as either an allopathic or osteopathic hospital.
(e) Whenever hospital medical staff requirements for staff
membership or department clinical privileges mandate that the physician
who has been granted privileges be certified or eligible for
certification by an appropriate American medical board, that hospital
must consider on an equal basis certification or eligibility for
certification by the appropriate American osteopathic board.
(f) Whenever an entity that contracts with physicians to provide
managed care or risk-based care requires that the physician who is
responsible for the contract be certified or eligible for certification
by an appropriate American medical board, the contract reference to an
American medical board shall be construed to include American
osteopathic boards on an equal basis when the contracting physician is
either an allopathic or osteopathic physician.
(g) Whenever an entity contracts with health facilities to provide
health care services, managed care, or risk-based care and requires that
those facilities be accredited by the Joint Commission for the
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the contract
reference to JCAHO accreditation shall be construed to include American
Osteopathic Association (AOA) accreditation on an equal basis.
(Source: P.A. 88-595, eff. 8-26-94.)
