Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas officials filed thousands of false Medicaid claims worth more than $5 million, according to a federal whistleblower lawsuit first made public yesterday.
The suit – filed by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) – alleges that Planned Parenthood of Houston submitted at least 87,075 “false, fraudulent, or ineligible claims” for Medicaid reimbursement under Title XIX of the program with the Texas Women’s Health Program.
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The claims were filed between 2007 and 2009 and were valued at more than $5.7 million, according to the suit. The suit was filed by ADF in July 2010 on behalf of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson.
Under the federal whistle blower law, such suits cannot be made public until federal and state officials decide whether to join them.
“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,” Norton said.
Nationally, Planned Parenthood is being investigated by Congress in a probe led by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-FL. The ADF released a report earlier this year that claimed Planned Parenthood officials were responsible for more than $100 million in waste, fraud and abuse in the spending of federal tax dollars.
For more on the ADF suit, including a link to its full text, go here.
