Planned Parenthood’s Houston-based affiliate clarified Tuesday that it settled for $4.3 million, three times the $1.4 million that Abbott reported a week ago.
The Houston Chronicle. has reported that Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast settled a whistle-blower lawsuit that alleged the Houston nonprofit engaged in fraudulent Medicaid billing for $4.3 million – nearly $3 million more than was announced last week by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
The say that, in finalizing the settlement, which includes total state and federal recovery, the agency claimed the allegations that it submitted more than $30 million in fraudulent bills between 2003 and 2009 were “baseless.”
The lawsuit was brought by a former medical assistant in agency’s Lufkin clinic. The lawsuit alleged “defendant’s billing policies routinely instructed clinic staff to enter billing codes for certain services, regardless of whether patients’ charts recorded that such service was actually provided.”
Last week, Texas Attorney General’s, in announcing a $1.4 million settlement, said its investigation showed the agency charged for “services that were never actually rendered, not medically necessary and were not covered by the Medicaid program.”
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