From the Alliance Defense Fund website:
HOUSTON, Texas —
Planned Parenthood submitted “repeated false, fraudulent, and
ineligible claims for Medicaid reimbursements” through the Texas
Women’s Health Program according to a federal lawsuit
made public Friday. Alliance Defense Fund attorneys representing former
Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson filed the lawsuit in
July 2009 against the abortion giant’s Houston and Southeast Texas
affiliate.
“Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being
funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said ADF Senior Counsel
Michael J. Norton. “No matter where a person stands on abortion,
everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same
rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of
public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”
ADF attorneys filed the suit under a federal law that allows
“whistleblowers” with inside information to expose fraudulent billing by
government contractors. By law, such cases must initially be filed
under seal and may not be made public while federal and state
governments decide whether to join the case.
Johnson, former director of Planned Parenthood’s Bryan/College Station
clinic, is suing through ADF attorneys under the Federal False Claims
Act and Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act. The suit alleges that
Planned Parenthood knowingly committed Medicaid fraud from 2007 to 2009
by improperly seeking reimbursements from the Texas Women’s Health
Program for products and services not reimbursable by that program.
The lawsuit alleges that Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast
Texas, now known as Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, filed at least
87,075 false, fraudulent, or ineligible claims with the Texas Women’s
Health Program. As a result, Planned Parenthood wrongfully received and
retained reimbursements totaling more than $5.7 million.
Texas effectively banned Planned Parenthood from participating in the
Texas Women’s Health Program recently because state law says that the
state’s Medicaid agency cannot contract with “affiliates of entities
that perform or promote elective abortions.”
On Feb. 7, ADF publicly released its report to Congress
in which ADF identified nearly $100 million in waste, abuse, and
potential fraud committed by other Planned Parenthood affiliates and
other service providers. Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida is currently
leading a congressional investigation into the handling of federal
funding by Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest purveyor of
abortions.
The lawsuit Johnson v. Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas
is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Texas, Houston Division. Irving attorney Joshua Carden and Houston
attorney Scot Dollinger, two of nearly 2,100 attorneys in the ADF
alliance, are assisting with the case.
Here is the permanent link.