PPGC clinic closures had nothing to do with those Medicaid fraud charges, sure

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Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast took the occasion of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s signing of a new omnibus pro-life law today to announce it was closing three of its 12 clinics. The reason, per Huffington Post:

The three clinics are located in Bryan, Huntsville and Lufkin, Texas. They are closing in response to a new package of  a new package of abortion restrictions signed into law on Thursday and funding cuts to Texas’ Women’s Health Program that were passed by the Texas state legislature in 2011. Out of the three Planned Parenthood clinics that are closing, only the Bryan clinic performs abortions.

Planned Parenthood timed its notice to steal media attention away from pro-lifers, while also trying to put Texas legislators on the defensive. But was this really an attempt to erase dots between the shutdowns and PPGC’s problem with Medicaid fraud?

Most interesting is the former employees who have accused PPGC of Medicaid fraud worked at two of the closing clinics.

Karen Reynolds, who filed a lawsuit in 2011, worked at the Lufkin facility; and Abby Johnson, who filed a lawsuit in 2012, worked at the Bryan clinic.

The charges may or may not lead to prosecutions, but my first thought today was that subsequent attempts by PPGC to clean up its books resulted in such a noticeable loss of profits it had to shutter the doors at 1/4 of its centers, two of which were surely under added scrutiny.

I spoke with Abby Johnson this afternoon, who agreed the Medicaid fraud charges had something to do with the closures.

“I think a lot of things went into account,” Abby added. “The loss of income from the State of Texas and the new regulations played a part. Then there was the constant presence of pro-lifers in Bryan that took away the bulk of its income from surgical abortions. Plus, all three facilities were 40 Days for Life sites. And, yes, PPGC also knows the state is watching their books, so they can no longer get away with charging for services they don’t provide.

“What’s makes this even more hilarious is PPGC just spent so much money on the Lufkin facility, which was abortion ready but not asc (ambulatory surgical center) ready,” Abby said. “With the passage of HB2, they knew they could never perform abortions there.”

Indeed, less than six years ago PPGC opened its 6,700 sq ft, $1.5 million Lufkin clinic….

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Major donors to the Lufkin clinic included Buddy and Ellen Temple and David and Jean Dolben, now had.

Not one to let poor planning stop it, PPGC broke ground in May for a new $4.2 million, 7,000 sq ft abortion clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, to open in late 2014/early 2015.

This action prompted the Louisiana legislature to open its own investigation of the PP affiliate in June.

Planned Parenthood New Orleans building contractor fined for violations, work stopped

Click to enlarge the glorious dump…

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Two contractors have been cited for violations in Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast’s latest woe while attempting to construct a new abortion clinic in New Orleans.

The State of Louisiana has fined Barre McNeely Investments, LLC, a total of $2,500 for falsely completing state forms. Company owner Larry McNeely wrote “BMI, LLC” on all permits and contracts in an apparent attempt to hide his company’s identity. But it is illegal to use other than a company’s licensed name on state documents.

Barre was also cited for hiring an unlicensed subcontractor, Quality Diamond Products, which was fined a total of $4,500.

Archbishop Aymond, who threatened to blacklist anyone associated with building Planned Parenthood New Orleans abortion clinicThe Planned Parenthood building project has been plagued by setbacks since its launch, thanks in large part to New Orleans’ pro-life community.

The Catholic Archbishop of New Orleans, Most Rev. Gregory Aymond (pictured right), dealt a huge blow in January when he published a letter in the Clarion Herald threatening to blacklist “every person or organization” involved in building the abortion mill.

When Planned Parenthood kicked off construction in May 2013, at a church no less, it projected the 7-8,000 sq ft building would cost $4.2 million and be up and running by now.

Permit Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Louisiana for abortion clinicA permit filed with the City of New Orleans showed Planned Parenthood originally scheduled a final inspection for August 18, meaning this was the date it projected the building to be completed.

That isn’t going to happen.

Fox8 reported in January 2014 “the lot sits untouched” eight months after Planned Parenthood’s big ceremonial ground-breaking, this apparently because it had trouble finding anyone to build its chop shop.

Planned Parenthood finally got something started in April, but the project has made little progress since then. Fox8 reported on August 20 there had been no work done for “several weeks.”

Planned Parenthood’s sign now says it will open in early 2015…

Planned Parenthood New Orleans abortion clinic contractor cited for violations

We all hope and pray not.

Planned Parenthood Louisiana and its parent affiliate, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, are hot messes at present.

390756_284329228286507_1809243706_nOnly last week PPL’s state director, Melissa Flournoy, pictured right, had to resign after making racist statements.

In 2013 the Louisiana state legislature directed several departments to launch an investigation after PPGC was fined $4.3 million for Medicaid fraud in Texas. While the Legislative Auditor found no wrong-doing, investigations by the Department of Health and Inspector General are ongoing.

In November 2013 Planned Parenthood Louisiana voluntarily reimbursed the state $33,739.13 after conducting “a self-audit in which they determined that one of their nurses had been writing and issuing prescriptions without proper authority,” according to Alliance Defending Freedom.

That’s called covering one’s behind.

Here’s one final shot, courtesy of Louisiana Coalition for Life, of Planned Parenthood’s New Orleans junkyard at present. May it stay this way…

2014-07-26 12.04.19

Planned Parenthood official resigns over racist statements

390756_284329228286507_1809243706_nAny distrust Women of Color felt toward Planned Parenthood was kept out of the public eye until July 28, when the abortion giant blew any remaining shreds of good will.

It was on that day a story Planned Parenthood shopped to the New York Times was published, within which Planned Parenthood failed to give WOC credit for the concept of “reproductive justice” and submitted names of only white female leaders of the abortion lobby to interview – seven to be exact – but no WOC.

Enter into the fracas Melissa Flournoy, pictured right, Louisiana State Director for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast – until August 15, that is, when she was forced to resign.

PPGC already had problems fending off three Medicaid fraud lawsuits as well as pro-lifers battling its plan to open an abortion clinic in New Orleans, where the population is 67% minority.

So Flournoy threw gas over a few fires on August 13 when she attended a screening of We Always Resist: Trust Black Women and took over the discussion afterward, telling WOC they needed to drop what they were doing and get behind Planned Parenthood’s political agenda and also telling a black leader she needed to kick a black Democrat pro-life representative’s ass.

Kris Ford of Women’s Health And Justice Initiative detailed Flournoy’s ghastly behavior in an open letter to Flournoy and PPGC. The entire letter is well worth the read. Here are excerpts (bold emphases theirs):Planned Parenthood official disses women of color on abortion, pro-choice

You felt that last night’s discussions should have centered on how organizations like Women With A Vision, the communities they serve, and women of color as a whole could “show up” for Planned Parenthood’s pro-choice fight….

The pro-choice/pro-life framework that Planned Parenthood supports and fuels largely leaves marginalized women behind. We gain nothing from joining your parade or lending our faces or our children’s faces to your billboards.

You, Melissa Flournoy, are a perfect example of the schism in work around reproductive rights. Your refusal to listen, your insistence on centering the conversation on your personal wants, and your flippant disregard for the work that organizations led by women of color have done. Worse, the huge organization that supports you is guilty of the same.

Part of why I’m wary of Planned Parenthood is that I lead an intersectional life by default…. You push us to the front of one charge after another so that you can wave your diversity banners. We fall first and are left bleeding every time….

Trust Black Women… [is] produced by Sister Song, the same organization whose member Monica Simpson wrote an open letter to Planned Parenthood on August 5th. Monica’s letter details the ways that Planned Parenthood consistently omits the intersectional work of grassroots organizations on reproductive issues….

Monica published her letter barely two weeks ago, and yet here I am publishing this one today because of your appalling behavior last night….

There was a feeling of reverence for the heaviness of the topics we’d discussed. Out of the three seconds of silence, your hand went up and the whole meeting went off the tracks. You started by introducing yourself as the Louisiana State director of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. After that, you proceeded to ask Deon what she could “do about Katrina.” Though you didn’t pause to give context, you were talking about Katrina Jackson, the state representative out of Monroe, Louisiana who penned HB388. The bill effectively shuts down some of the abortion providers here in Louisiana. You complained about the representative’s unwillingness to hear your pleas, and jokingly said that you wanted to “put (Deon) into a ring and let you kick her ass!” Didn’t we JUST get done talking about how hurtful it is for black women to constantly be profiled as dangerous? Violent? Subhuman? How is this helpful? Deon had told us about the police reports she sees where police officers describe black women as primarily “big,” “black,” and “angry.” YOU TURNED AROUND AND DID THE SAME THING. Deon stated that she’s not going to go fight any other black women. She’s not doing this work to go be the black person who can tame other black people for you. None of us are. It was clear that you weren’t getting the answers or feedback that you wanted. I’m sure you were aware of the people expressing their dismay in the background as you charged on to talk at length about how what we REALLY need to just focus on less race stuff and more political stuff. According to you, the solution lies in pressuring elected officials and voting the bad eggs out of office. You asked question after question, made statement after statement, and barely paused for Deon or anyone else to answer. When she was able to sneak a word in edgewise, you cut her off again! This went round and around. You interrupted most of the people who spoke last night, including me. I explained that I rejected the Pro Choice vs. Pro Life framework because it leaves behind many of the communities represented in that room. I stated that while I was glad you came, I didn’t want this entire conversation to become us simply focused on and responding to you. I also said that when you ask questions of people like Deon, like Paris, like the many activists and organizers in that room who have exactly the kind of analysis that your organization sorely lacks, you need to shut up and listen. You didn’t. In fact, you cut me off before I could finish talking. Here’s more of what I want to say:

How dare you, Melissa? How dare you show up to an event by and for women of color, then go ahead to tell us that we’re not focusing on YOUR organization enough? That we aren’t showing up for YOU enough? We afforded you every opportunity last night to get a feel for where women of color are coming from on this issue. The answers to why we aren’t as common as we could be among the Planned Parenthood ranks was staring you in the face, and you turned away every time. You heard it from black women, you heard it from black men, you heard it from faith leaders and scholars and activists and average folks walking down the street. You even heard it from Laura McTighe, a white ally who was so upset by your behavior that she stepped forward to name that you had effectively derailed the entire conversation and wrapped it around yourself, and that it was inappropriate of you to ask women of color why they weren’t doing more for YOU. Did you listen to her? Did you listen when she said that she felt the more appropriate question to ask was how you, your organization, and white people in general could show up and be better allies for US?

I don’t think you did. What you did was talk over people, take up too much space emotionally and physically in the room. I knew you weren’t really engaged with us because people were standing uncomfortably in the back of the room while you sprawled across two chairs of your own…

If the Louisiana State director of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast can listen to the lived experiences of women of color and then try to mock us and disrupt our meetings, then what hope is there for Planned Parenthood to work in an anti-racist framework? Why should I bother with trusting or investing in any of your political ventures if you can’t see the merit in my community based activism?

Black women’s bodies are the scapegoat here. No matter how you turn it, when we view ourselves on your terms, the jokes fly about how we should go fight people for you. We are damned for having children, damned for having abortions, damned for refusing to navigate our bodies within your framework, and then chastised for not showing up for you….

Rather than resist the urge to stack oppressions like a playground contest, you tossed out you’re a lesbian from Shreveport and that I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I think I judged you appropriately. I think I had you figured out when I reluctantly had to lump you in with the rest of the big money non-profits that just want to hijack our stories for convenient marketing. I think I had you right when I assumed that you wouldn’t be able to simply be a member of the community that night. I think I was correct in assuming that you and the organization that you represent have a long way to go. If you commonly behave this way professionally, expect to alienate more and more people.

Well, wow. I’ve certainly been impressed by the depth and insight of these open letters. I may disagree with the bottom line of these particular WOC, who believe they need abortion in their equation, but I certainly come away with a better understanding of where they are coming from. It is also clear there is unbridled animus against Planned Parenthood.

TheHayRide.com added:Planned Parenthood women of color abortion

This is Deon Haywood… 

So naturally, telling a room full of people that you’d like to put Katrina Jackson in a ring with her so she could kick Jackson’s ass isn’t going to go over all that well.

By the next day the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast issued an open letter apologizing for Flournoy.

By August 15 Flournoy had posted news of her resignation on Facebook (now private)…

melissa-flournoy

While it relieves me to see WOC “wary” of Planned Parenthood for using them to further its political agenda, this is only the display of a deeper insidious agenda, which is to profit from their woes. WOC must know by now they have a disproportionate share of abortions. This is because Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry target them.

The roots of the abortion industry are in the eugenics movement, which became popular in America after blacks were freed from slavery and no longer needed or wanted.

[HT: @Defund_PP; LifeNews.com; thehayride.com]

Swanky art auction held for fraudulent Planned Parenthood affiliate

Susan-Bischoff-and-Eddie-Allen-in-front-of-the-Jim-Dine-watercolor-at-Planned-Parenthood-Fine-Art-Auction_125546

“A fool and his money are soon parted” is a phrase that came to mind when reading the May 26 Houston CultureMap story, “Auction party: The stakes are raised for Planned Parenthood at this artful River Oaks bash,” about a “Fine Art Auction benefitting Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.”

Houston’s pro-abortion elite are either unaware or pretending not to notice that Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is up to its ears in legal trouble.

Planned Parenthood Lufkin Texas closedI reported last week that a third Medicaid lawsuit has emerged accusing  PPGC of Medicaid fraud.

Two of those cases are pending, but the third has been settled with the Department of Justice, costing PPGC $4.3 million. All three clinics under investigation were forced to close.

One of those clinics, in Lufkin, Texas, had only opened in late 2006, at a cost of $1.5 million. Funds for that money pit were donated or raised by Ellie and Buddy Temple and the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, Jean and David Dolben, and Joan Duncan.

None of those names appeared on the guest list at the Houston soiree.  Perhaps this was a coincidence, or perhaps it’s as fellow Texan President George W. Bush once quipped, “Fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.” Whatever, more on the Houston event from the article:

Where: The artful River Oaks home of Judy and Scott Nyquist.

The 411: Guests sipped wine and nibbled light bites from A La Carte Catering while strolling from room to room to view and bid on donated art treasures from well-known artists such as Patrick Hughes, Jim Dine, James Surls, William Wegman, MANUAL, Don Reitz and Joe Aker, who was on hand to share the story behind his iconic photograph “Lonely Road.” The auction items were displayed among the Nyquists’ own exquisite collection, generating lively conversation among the art lovers.

Presiding over the auction was Houston artist and philanthropist  Kathryn Rabinow who, with her daughter Sarah Pesikoff, is chairing the “The Gala: For a Million Women, For a Million Reasons,” benefiting Planned Parenthood, on Oct. 25 at the Hilton Americas-Houston. The Reitz and Surls sculptures were sold outright and Rabinow even received phone-in bids as the party progressed.

Who: The artistic crowd included Elizabeth Weingarten, Anne Chao, Beverly and Howard Robinson, David Haug, Page Kempner, Anne Tucker, Adam Newar, Eddie Allen, Ruth and Tom Dreesen, Carol Neuberger, Lois Stark, Leslie and Russ Robinson and Anne Graubart.

(Tom Dreesen the comedian, I wonder?)

I really do wonder how many of these moneybags know they’re likely donating to the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Medicaid Fraud Endowment Fund?

More photos from the lovely event to support mass murder, all via Houston.Culturemap.com, with photos by Sarah Austin (click twice to enlarge)…

[Top photo, via Houston.Culturemap.com, L to R: Susan Bischoff and Eddie Allen in front of a Jim Dine painting; Lufkin screen shot via Saynsumthn’s Blog]

BREAKING: Third Medicaid fraud lawsuit emerges against Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast

breakingA third lawsuit has emerged accusing  Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast of committing Medicaid fraud.

Former PPGC accounts receivable manager Patricia Carroll is alleging her former employer falsified Medicaid claim forms and double billed.

Carroll joins former Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast employee Karen Reynolds, who won her case in 2013 and received a $1.25 million bounty from the $4.3 million settlement paid by PPGC to Obama’s Department of Justice, and former PPGC employee Abby Johnson, whose lawsuit accusing PPGC of $6 million in fraud is still pending.

Carroll originally filed a sealed whistleblower lawsuit in 2012, but at some point the case was unsealed, coming to light on May 19 when she filed an amended complaint.

Carroll alleges Planned Parenthood’s Huntsville clinic staff ran a Medicaid fraud scheme between 2002-12 involving troubled teens involuntarily remanded at Gulf Coast Trade Center in New Waverly, Texas.

Nonphysician staff from Planned Parenthood routinely drove to the center to take two separate blood draws for STD and HIV testing 10 days apart from newly detained youths, when one blood draw would have sufficed. Planned Parenthood then filed Medicaid claims falsely indicating the blood draws were completed at its Huntsville clinic on two separate visits and by a physician.

Carroll’s lawsuit alleges PPGC “is an ineligible provider of Medicaid services in a school or prison setting.” So, she states, PPGC Huntsville staff created false charts and false office appointments to cover up the scheme. Furthermore, Carroll alleges Trade Center violated the HIPAA privacy rule by providing identities and Medicaid numbers to Planned Parenthood.

Carroll further alleges the blood tests were unnecessary to begin with, since the youth were medically screened before coming to the center.

Carroll says she became suspicious when Planned Parenthood’s Huntsville clinic suddenly showed a 315% spike in revenue, whereupon she took a closer look at its books.

If Carroll’s allegations prove true, the cover-up extends all the way up to the upper  echelons of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

After Carroll discovered the illegal revenue stream, she first approached local PP managers to no avail and finally called PPFA’s corporate office in New York, which forwarded her to PPFA’s ethics attorney, Jay Meisley, in Washington, D.C.

Meisley referred Carroll to a local attorney, with whom she understood she would be filing an ethics complaint. But that attorney, “presumably Alissa Rubin,” according to the lawsuit, turned out to be Planned Parenthood’s own attorney defending PPGC against Reynolds’ and Johnson’s lawsuit.

Carroll finally quit, refusing to file additional Medicaid claims she thought were illegal.

“Immediately thereafter,” according to her lawsuit, “[PPGC CFO] Jeffrey Palmer, [PPGC HIV Program Director] Susan Rokes and [PPGC VP of Medical Services] Laurie McGill made the decision to write-off the claims Carroll refused to release, but did not, to Carroll’s knowledge, fully inform the Medicaid Program or reimburse fraudulent billings.”

Carroll alleges the fraudulent claims were for approximately $200 each and amounted to “thousands” over the course of a decade.

PPGC garnered great media sympathy by taking the occasion of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s signing of the omnibus pro-life law in 2013 to announce it was closing three of its 12 clinics. 

Not coincidentally, the clinics were in Lufkin, where Reynolds discovered fraud, Bryan, where Johnson discovered fraud, and Huntsville, where Carroll discovered fraud.

Planned Parenthood tried to get Carroll’s lawsuit dismissed by claiming the statute of limitations had run out and that her fraud claims were not specific enough.

On May 14, District Court Judge Sim Lake ruled against PPGC on all its motions to dismiss, except its point that one of Carroll’s claim was not specific enough. In the latter case the judge gave Carroll 15 days to clarify that one allegation, which she did on May 19. The judge noted, “Carroll has adequately pleaded factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that Planned Parenthood knowingly filed false claims.”

[Thanks to Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys Steve Aden and Casey Mattox for their input]

Colorado Planned Parenthood blames personhood initiatives for two clinic closures

roe-and-colorado-blogWell, God works in mysterious ways.

Poor planning by Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, ironically due to two successful attempts to preserve its bottom line, has resulted in overextending itself to the point it has to close two of its 23 clinics. At least that’s PPRM’s claim. From the Colorado Springs Independent, August 14:

It’s been widely reported that in 2008 and 2010, opponents of personhood greatly outspent supporters.

And they won easily. In 2008, Amendment 48 failed 73.2% to 26.8%. In 2010, Amendment 62 failed 70.53% to 29.47%.

But the victories have come at a cost, particularly to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which is gearing up for another fight should Brady backers get enough signatures by early September to qualify for the ballot. PPRM spokesperson Monica McCafferty notes that her organization led the funding in both campaigns, which together cost about $3 million.

Though donations are up, McCafferty says the campaigns’ costs have hurt. It’s one of the reasons why PPRM is closing two centers (neither of which offers abortion) in September. One is in La Junta, the other in eastern Colorado Springs.

McCafferty says she believes personhood organizers have taken to the ballot repeatedly as “a tactic … to just drain our resources.”

[Personhood USA spokesperson Jennifer] Mason says that’s untrue – her group has run Personhood in Colorado, she says, because Personhood USA is based in Colorado. Not that she’s shedding any tears over the clinics: “It was an unintended consequence. And I can’t say I’m disappointed.”

Actually, I don’t believe for a minute that personhood initiatives were responsible for PPRM’s clinic closures. As we saw recently in TexasPlanned Parenthood Gulf Coast tried to blame government defunding and a new pro-life law for three clinic closures, but it soon came out PPGC simply ran out of financial reserves to pay a Medicaid fraud settlement.

But whatev, I’ll take it.

Image_of_the_unborn_baby_Brady_Surovik_Courtesy_of_The_Brady_Project_CNA_US_Catholic_News_4_5_13Meanwhile, Colorado pro-lifers are pressing ahead with a different sort of personhood initiative in 2014. It is called the Brady Amendment and named for Brady Paul Surovik, an 8 pound, 2 ounce, baby boy who was killed en utero by a drunk driver on July 5,  2012, just days before he was due to be born.

Brady’s mother Heather, who was seriously injured but survived, was grieved to learn the four-time convicted driver would not be charged for killing Brady, because Brady was not considered a person in Colorado. (Neither was Colorado theater shooter James Holmes charged with the murder of a perborn baby who miscarried after his/her mother was shot.)

In May the Colorado legislature passed the deceptively named Crimes Against Pregnant Women Act, which upped penalties in cases such as Brady’s but did not confer personhood to preborns. Planned Parenthood approved the bill, which was stuffed with pro-abortion trinkets.

According to the Catholic News Agency:

Two personhood amendments have gone before Colorado voters, but neither attracted more than 30% of the vote. Another proposed amendment to define personhood failed to qualify the 2012 ballot. These efforts tried to define personhood from the moment of fertilization or from the moment human development begins.

The Brady Amendment differs from these previous amendments. Its phrasing only concerns victims of crime or negligence. Since abortion is legal in Colorado, the amendment may not have any effect on it.

Here’s more on precious baby Brady…

[youtube]http://youtu.be/BCaVnHejbZ0[/youtube]

Poor Planned Parenthood against those evil, greedy whistleblowers

underdog

Poor Planned Parenthood, with its piddly one billion dollar annual income. It’s just no match for evil, greedy whistleblowers, at least according to pro-abort “reporter” Carolyn Jones at The Guardian:

Whistleblowers are the good guys, right? They cry foul on charlatans and overreaching governments. But what if your urge to disclose is lubricated by the promise of a whopping pile of cash? What if powerful lobby groups are standing by to give you first-rate legal representation? And what if your inside knowledge relates to one of America’s most bitter cultural conflicts?

Well, if the prospect of a hefty legal settlement helps persuade you to the anti-abortion cause, then the US False Claims Act, being used to expensive effect against Planned Parenthood providers, might be the law for you.

Jones disdained the fact that former Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast employee Karen Reynolds got a $1.25 million settlement  from the U.S. Obama/Holder Department of Justice, which, Jones did not note, agreed with Reynolds that PPGC committed Medicaid fraud.

No, Planned Parenthood is the underdog, paying off such unmerited lawsuits “rather than endure costly legal battles.”

Nor did Jones like the fact that I promoted Reynolds’ bounty:

And after the size of Reynolds’ bounty became public, influential anti-choice blogger Jill Stanek tweeted every Planned Parenthood affiliate to “tell what u know”. She also endorsed a follower’s tweet that said, “heck, for $1.25 Mil, I’d even tell them what I don’t know”, and she crowed to the ADF that she was trying to drum up business for them.

Commenter ninoinoz nicely summed up all that was wrong with Jones’ piece:

Gosh, I’ve really enjoyed this article.

The Guardian griping against whistleblowers when it’s one of its pet causes being exposed. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, anyone?

Also, considering abortion is only legal it the United States because of a court decision (Roe vs. Wade), it is LOL funny to complain about legal actions launched by your opponents.

I also like the belly-aching about pro-life groups organising and financing legal action. Are you the only ones allowed to do that then?

Finally, to complain about a pro-life activist using social media (Twitter) to seek out fraud is laughable. Are pro-lifers supposed to only use quills and parchment?

The fact is, whistleblowers could bring Planned Parenthood down. So, of course, they must be pretzeled into being the bad guys.

BREAKING: Bombshells in Parenthood Gulf Coast’s $4.3m fraud settlement

breakingnews2The good people at Alliance Defending Freedom have forwarded me the settlement agreement between Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and the United States of America, the Texas Attorney General, and whistleblower Karen Reynolds, for charges that PPGC committed Medicaid fraud between 2003-2009. The settlement was signed by all parties on July 24 and 25.

As I wrote yesterday, PPGC has agreed to pay $4.3 million. According to the settlement, the money will be divied three ways:

$2,552,169 – United States
$1,247,000 – Karen Reynolds (bounty)
$500,831 – State of Texas

In addition, PPGC must pay Reynolds’ attorney fees. Reynolds was represented by the American Center for Law and Justice.

ADF attorney Casey Mattox was kind enough to walk me through the settlement agreement. Following are the high points, including a few bombshells. [Read ADF’s blog on this here.]

Department-Of-Justice6308The most significant component of the settlement is that the U.S. Department of Justice ”contends that PPGC submitted false claims and made false statements to the United States in connection with claims submitted to” Medicaid, Title XIX, Title XX, and the Texas Women’s Health Program.

This represents the first time the U.S. Department of Justice has accused aPlanned Parenthood affiliate of fraud.

That it was Barack Obama/Eric Holder’s DOJ makes this even more newsworthy.

The WHP is the very program PP had the audacity to kick and scream about being evicted from last year, when all along at least one of its affiliates was defrauding it.

In the settlement PPGC denies the allegations are true.

But as Mattox  said, “If you believe a Planned Parenthood affiliate that has been fighting against defunding efforts, threatening lawsuits over its exclusion from the Women’s Health Program, has another Medicaid fraud case pending in federal court [Abby Johnson’s], and claims recently passed pro-life legislation is forcing it to close clinics, would pay $4.3 million just to make this case go away, I have depreciating property I’d like to show you. If PP really believed these claims were baseless, this was their chance to demonstrate that in court. Instead, they paid out a huge chunk of money.”

The settlement clearly stipulates both the State of Texas and federal government believe PPGC billed false claims.

Another huge component of the settlement is that PPGC has 90 days to identify overcharges it has made against the government and Medicaid and repay the overcharges, plus interest and penalties.

Other noteworthy points in the settlement:

  • The Inspector General and DHHS reserved the right to investigate other claims against PPGC (Abby Johnson’s lawsuit, for instance).
  • The government (state/federal) reserved the right to sue for civil or criminal liability, including “current or former directors, officers, employees, agents, or sharehoolders of PPGC.”
  • The government reserved the right to audit PPGC’s books for overcharges.
  • PPGC cannot turn around and charge former patients or insurers for government overcharges.
  • PPGC agreed to cooperate with any government investigation and turn over requested unredacted documents and reports. PPGC cannot impair employees from cooperating with the government.
  • If for some reason PPGC reneges on this settlement, such as by declaring bankruptcy, the government will increase the amount PPGC owes to “$6,432,560, which represents three times the amount the Government alleges to have be overpaid.”

The latter point means the government believes it can prove it found $2,144,186.67 million in overcharges by PPGC.

So PPGC’s $4.3 million settlement is for twice that amount. Reynold’s lawsuit alleged PPGC overbilled “several millions of dollars” over the course of six years. Mattox believes the $30 million figure mentioned by news outlets included penalties.

downloadThe amount of waste, abuse, and fraud uncovered in Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide now totals over $12.5 million, according to Mattox. Auditors and investigators in several states have uncovered Planned Parenthood affiliate fraud.

That the federal government has identified Planned Parenthood as submitting false claims should impact the ongoing congressional hearing, said Mattox, and also help states trying to defund Planned Parenthood.

Mattox said it will be interesting to see the amount of Medicaid funds Planned Parenthood receives over the next 2-4 years. It should be tightening up its act.

We may already be seeing it. RH Reality Check complained today:

[C]laims in [the] Texas Women’s Health Program, which replaced the Medicaid Women’s Health Program at the start of this year, have declined by about 23% in the first five months of 2013, as compared to Medicaid Women’s Health Program claims during the same period last year. This is the first year the program has operated without Planned Parenthood.

RHRC was trying to claim that fewer low income women are being served. But the lower number more likely represents claims not padded by Planned Parenthood.

“It is hard to calculate the impact these lawsuits are having,” said Mattox. They are forcing Planned Parenthood to make voluntary changes in its billing practices.  My biggest hope is this will hurt Planned Parenthood by taking the Teflon off.

“Planned Parenthood knows it now has people looking over its shoulder,” Mattox said. “I can guarantee you PP went into this with the mindset, ‘How much can we bill and get away with?’ Now PP’s mindset is, ‘What can I defend to a judge?'”


Who Is Jill Stanek?

Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.

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