OneNewsNow.com - Did Planned Parenthood Soak Taxpayers?
by Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow
Listen to the report here.
The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) is appealing a decision related to alleged fraud by Planned Parenthood affiliates in California.
ACLJ attorneys are representing a whistleblower in the case, a former financial officer of Planned Parenthood. No action was taken so a private lawsuit was filed. ACLJ's Jay Sekulow explains the rationale behind his client's suit.
"A private claim is authorized under federal law precisely because politically powerful groups like Planned Parenthood are often not prosecuted, not brought to any kind of civil justice for their overbilling practices," he states.
"Here we're talking about tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money being misused by Planned Parenthood, and the government did not take any action on this," the attorney continues. "They acknowledged that there was, in fact, overbilling -- but took no action to recoup the money." And that, says Sekulow, is the purpose of the action currently on appeal.
The lawsuit alleges that Planned Parenthood affiliates in California illegally marked up the supposed cost of various birth-control drugs when seeking government reimbursement. State audits in both California and Washington State have found affiliates overbilling.