Papa Ola Lōkahi asks federal court to move Do No Harm lawsuit to Hawaiʻi

Papa Ola Lōkahi filed a motion Tuesday asking the US District Court for the District of Columbia to transfer Do No Harm v. US Department of Health and Human Services to the US District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi, where Papa Ola Lōkahi operates and fulfills its kuleana to co-administer the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program at the center of the lawsuit.

Papa Ola Lōkahi said the Scholarship Program directly benefits the citizens of Hawai‘i, who receive the benefit of health professionals who participate in the program. Program scholars commit to serving in Hawai‘i, thereby increasing the number of primary care providers in the state. Scholars who benefit from the program serve communities across the state that will be directly affected by the outcome.

“The Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program was designed to serve communities here in Hawaiʻi,” said Dr. Sheri Daniels, chief executive officer of Papa Ola Lōkahi. “We are committed to defending this program for the students and the communities it serves. It is easier to defend the program in a court within our own community than in one nearly 5,000 miles away.”

Congress established the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program under the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act to address long-standing and persistent health disparities. The program funds and supports training for health care professionals who commit to serving Native Hawaiian communities, in health professional shortage areas, and in medically underserved areas across Hawaiʻi.

Papa Ola Lōkahi jointly administers the program with the US Health Resources and Services Administration. Since 1991, the program has helped more than 300 recipients pursue health profession education and service placements throughout the state.

Do No Harm, a national advocacy group based in Utah, filed the lawsuit in March 2026, challenging the scholarship program’s Native Hawaiian eligibility criteria. Papa Ola Lōkahi moved to intervene in the case in May 2026, and the court granted the organization the right to intervene in June.

Papa Ola Lōkahi will not comment on ongoing litigation beyond its court filings. The organization is represented in the case by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation; the Native American Rights Fund; and Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP.

The civil case number is 1:26-cv-01062.
For more information, visit www.papaolalokahi.org.