According to Alliance Defending Freedom, Planned Parenthood submitted “repeated false, fraudulent, and/or ineligible claims for reimbursement” to Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services. ADF filed suit against Planned Parenthood in July 2011, and the lawsuit was made public on Tuesday. Federal law protects “whistle-blowers” by keeping such cases under seal until federal authorities decide whether to be involved in the case.
ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton stated, “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it. Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long. It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.”
Alliance Defending Freedom filed the lawsuit on behalf of a Washington resident who used state open records requests to uncover the misuse by Planned Parenthood. According to the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest filed at least 25,000 false claims with HRSA for reimbursements. The claims were in excess of the amount allowed for oral contraceptive pills. Total damages from those claims and other falsely filed claims could be as much as $377,134,130.
The complaint by Washington resident Jonathan Bloedow is consistent with a 2011 Government Accountability Office report that found HRSA’s monitoring of the 340B program, under which Planned Parenthood filed for the reimbursements, inadequate. The 2011 report recommended that “HRSA take steps to strengthen oversight regarding program participation and compliance with program requirements.”
