Washington PPs Being Investigated for Medicaid Fraud/Overbilling

Planned Parenthood of Spokane/Eastern Washington has recently been in the news because it is being audited by the state as part of a Medicaid fraud investigation, and it seems that evidence of deliberate, systematic, year over year overbilling has been found, involving millions of dollars of taxpayers' money.

At the same time, the leadership of PP of Spokane has been forced out and Anna Franks, CEO of PP of Central WA, has taken over.

And it seems Planned Parenthood of Western Washington is being investigated for the exact same type of Medicaid fraud. PP of Central Washington has never denied involvement in these same schemes.

At issue is a government drug discount program known as "340B". Organizations like Planned Parenthood are able to purchase drugs like oral contraceptives and emergency contraception at enormous discounts, for as little as $2 per unit. They are actually allowed to sell these drugs at any markup they want, except in the case where the client is under Medicaid. In that case, the discount they received must be passed along to the government aka taxpayers. But it seems PP has been billing Olympia at the full Medicaid rates, about $21 per unit, an illegal $19 markup.

All this adds up to millions of dollars in illegal revenue. This is exactly the same type of fraud that is alleged in a $180 million lawsuit in California brought by a former PP insider. P. Victor Gonzalez was the Chief Financial Officer of PP of Los Angeles. He found this fraud going on there and tried to report it. The state started an audit, but Gonzalez was fired. Planned Parenthood managed to get their friends in the state government to call off the audit and let them go about ripping off the taxpayers as before, with some additional help from Sacramento. The case is currently on appeal.

Anna Franks needs to come forward immediately and disclose the receipts which indicate what price they are purchasing drugs for to clear this issue up once and for all.