Lawsuit Accuses Planned Parenthood of the Heartland of Fraudulent Medicaid Billing

July 11, 2012 — The U.S. attorney general and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller (D) both declined to take up a whistleblower lawsuit accusing Planned Parenthood of the Heartland of nearly $28 million in fraudulent Medicaid billing and health care practices, the Des Moines Register reports.

The suit, which is detailed in documents unsealed this week, was brought by Susan Thayer, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director, with support from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group that opposes abortion rights.

Thayer filed the suit in March 2011 under state and federal whistleblower laws, which sealed the complaint while state and federal authorities reviewed it and decided whether to prosecute the case.

Details of Allegations

The suit alleges PPH "unbundled" services related to elective abortion care and billed those to Medicaid, but not that it billed for the actual abortion procedures. PPH could face up to $5.5 billion in fines if found guilty of fraud. The suit also charges that Planned Parenthood employees prescribed contraceptives for up to 14 months without a qualified health care provider seeing the patients or conducting follow-ups.

Thayer worked at a Planned Parenthood clinic for almost 17 years before her job was eliminated because of budget restrictions. Jill June, president of PPH, said, "It wasn't until employment was ended that Thayer partnered with this extreme group against Planned Parenthood, that she began releasing mistruths about our organization." June described the lawsuit as part of "a pattern of harassment against women's health care and Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country" (Finney, Des Moines Register, 7/11).