Texas sues Planned Parenthood over $17M in past Medicaid payments

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U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on Tuesday held a hearing in the lawsuit brought by the state against the nation’s largest abortion provider. Texas is seeking to recoup about $17 million in Medicaid payments made to Planned Parenthood from 2017 to 2021. The state removed the organization from its Medicaid program in 2021 after a four-year legal battle. Planned Parenthood argues the money it received during that time supported cancer screenings and birth control access, not to perform abortions. Texas law protects unborn babies in almost all cases. Kacsmaryk ruled in April that the FDA should pause its approval for mifepristone, an abortion drug.

What grounds does Texas have for the lawsuit? The state brought the case last year under the federal False Claims Act. Under the act, every alleged improper payment could be subject to fines. Planned Parenthood says the fines could add up to a judgment of more than $1 billion.

Dig deeper: Read Joseph Backholm’s column in WORLD Opinions about how Planned Parenthood is participating in transgender procedures.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.