ICYMI: Judge Kacsmaryk to Hear Baseless Lawsuit Against Planned Parenthood 

Vox’s Ian Milhiser details $1.8 billion attack against PPFA & Planned Parenthood Texas affiliates 

Washington–Last week, Vox’s Ian Millhiser published a detailed explainer on the latest baseless attack on sexual and reproductive health care that anti-abortion activists have brought before federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, the same judge who declared FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in most medication abortions, unlawful. In United States ex rel. Doe v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the state of Texas and an anonymous plaintiff are suing Planned Parenthood for more than $1.8 billion, falsely alleging that the Texas affiliates and Planned Parenthood Federation of America defrauded the state's Medicaid system by getting reimbursed for providing birth control, cancer screenings, and other basic health care services for people struggling to make ends meet. 

As Millhiser’s piece makes clear, Planned Parenthood did not commit Medicaid fraud. Planned Parenthood did nothing wrong and absolutely followed the law:

“The Doe lawsuit alleges that Planned Parenthood should have to repay all the money it received for providing care to Medicaid patients in Texas and Louisiana during the period those two states were legally bound to keep working with them — a dubious legal proposition. But that’s not all. They claim that Planned Parenthood is liable for three times the amount of money it received plus a penalty of up to $11,000 for each of the thousands of claims for payment filed with these two states. Hence the massive $1.8 billion figure”

…

“Indeed, one of the many ways that the Doe case is unusual is that there is no allegation that Planned Parenthood did not provide the medical services it billed Texas or Louisiana’s Medicaid system for providing. Rather, the Doe relator effectively claims that Planned Parenthood should not have been paid for the services it provided to patients in Texas and Louisiana — and that Planned Parenthood must now pay extraordinarily high penalties because it sought payments from these two states that were explicitly allowed by a federal court order, and did not return that money after the court order was reversed by the Fifth Circuit.

“Needless to say, there are quite a few problems with this legal theory. In a brief to Kacsmaryk, for example, Planned Parenthood cites an array of federal court cases establishing that, when a party complies with a federal court’s injunction, it cannot be forced to pay for that compliance if the injunction is later lifted.

Milhiser discussed his piece on MSNBC over the weekend, telling host Katie Phang: 

“The plaintiffs legal theory here is that Planned Parenthood broke the law when it complied with a federal court order and that Planned Parenthood should be forced to pay back not just services it already provided to Medicaid patients, but ludicrous amounts of penalties...This is just really an attempt to go after this organization"

PPFA President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson also discussed the case with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday night. Hayes summed up the lawsuit concisely when he said “Basically they are suing Planned Parenthood for complying with a federal court order.” Alexis further expanded on the risks to Planned Parenthood health centers and patients: 

“It's happening, again, in a state and in a district that, you know, we have seen has been hostile to reproductive freedoms. So, are we concerned? Absolutely. Is there any merit to the case? Absolutely not. These are baseless claims. They're essentially suing Planned Parenthood for getting reimbursed for providing health care services in Texas to patients, just like every other health care provider does…We follow the law…We ensure that we are compliant, we are a nonprofit, and millions of people depend on Planned Parenthood for their health care services.”

Alexis also made clear that our opposition is not satisfied with “just” banning abortion and gender affirming care–“they are hellbent on also trying to shutter our doors.” 

In January, Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas — Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, and Planned Parenthood South Texas — and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) asked Judge Kacsmaryk to rule in their favor in this baseless lawsuit. The case is currently on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on two consolidated False Claims Act cases before it, which is expected in the next month.