Update: August 1, 2013.
New information has arisen indicating that the initial announced sum of $1.4 million Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is responsible for repaying the government is only a portion of the final settlement reached by the Attorney General's office. Per the agreement, obtained by Texas Right to Life, the abortion giant actually owes a total of $4.3 million. The amount that will be paid to Texas and former Planned Parenthood employee, Karen Reynolds, totals to just over $1.7 million, whereas the remaining $2.6 million will be going to the U.S. government. The abortion giant's pockets are now $4.3 million lighter after trying to scam taxpayers.
Original post:
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott achieves another Pro-Life victory. On Wednesday, July 24, the state settled a Medicaid billing fraud case against Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, at a sum of $1.4 million. The abortion giant will have to cough up the amount after improperly billing for services and products that were never actually offered to patients.
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is also guilty of rendering services that were not medically necessary and were not covered by the state or federal Medicaid program, but for which the abortion giant still claimed reimbursement. According to the attorney general’s office, the state discovered the reimbursement scam through falsified information in patient records.
Last year, a district judge refused to throw out the case brought forth by former Planned Parenthood employee, Karen Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds alleged that during her 10 years with the abortion chain, the practice was to consistently over-bill Medicaid and to doctor records. The Texas Attorney General’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division successfully pursued the claims.
Ironically, two years ago, this same Planned Parenthood affiliate sued in an attempt to force its way back into the Women’s Health Program, a then pilot Medicaid program. So at the time that this other lawsuit was filed, Planned Parenthood was already breaking the old Medicaid rules by falsifying records.
The affiliate that runs the nation’s largest abortion facility announced last week that three Texas centers are closing. Supporters of the chain blamed Texas lawmakers for the shutdowns, yet Planned Parenthood continue to prove their priority is to protect and bolster their bottom line rather than promoting women’s health.
This recent Medicaid settlement shows the desperation of the abortion industry to keep its tendrils in the pockets of taxpayers. Under federal rules, any provider convicted of fraud is ineligible for federal healthcare dollars for a minimum of five years. Seemingly, the threat of losing the only government funding stream left for them in Texas motivated them to settle their fraud lawsuit even at such a high cost.
The abortion giant lies to women as well as to every state in the nation about its true motives. Though Planned Parenthood claims their abortion services are entirely separate from actual medical services, even the Houston Chronicle featured an article stating otherwise. Planned Parenthood is concerned with keeping the lucrative abortion business thriving while scamming women and the American people.