Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has ordered the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to terminate further payments to the state's Planned Parenthood clinics because their "consistent submission of improper billings should disqualify these Planned Parenthood providers from participation in the Oklahoma Medicaid program."
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Taxpayers' $Billions to Abortionists: Government Report
Federal Government Probes Planned Parenthood for Fraud
Planned Parenthood's Goal is to Defraud Taxpayers
Planned Parenthood Faces $5.5 Billion (with a "B") Fine for Fraud
Also read Planned Parenthood Reports its Abortions & Profits Increased Last Year
And read Planned Parenthood Caught Selling Aborted Babies on Video
-- From "Oklahoma Governor Seeks End of Planned Parenthood Contracts" by Tim Talley, Associated Press 11/19/15
The governor announced Thursday that she's asking the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to terminate contracts with Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma in Oklahoma City and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Tulsa.
Fallin said the authority reviewed payments to the two affiliates and found billing error rates of about 20 percent for Oklahoma City and 14 percent for Tulsa, though no improper use of state Medicaid funds was discovered.
"These results are alarming," the two-term Republican governor said in a letter to Nico Gomez, CEO of the authority. "More than one in every seven bills submitted for payment to your agency by these providers are inaccurately coded or insufficiently documented. These errors result in overbilling to the Oklahoma taxpayer."
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From "Oklahoma looks to defund Planned Parenthood for 'billing errors'" by Sarah Ferris, The Hill 11/19/15
Fallin asked Oklahoma's health department on Thursday to terminate its contracts with the group after an official review of the state’s two affiliates found billing error rates of 20 and 14 percent.
Oklahoma reimbursed Planned Parenthood for about $100,000 worth of claims in 2015, totaling about 20,000 patient visits. In 2014, the state paid $200,000 for about 36,000 patient visits.
The move would impact six clinics in and around Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Fallin argued that ending the Medicaid contracts — which would force the clinics to accept fewer patients if not close altogether — would not impact a woman’s ability to choose her own provider, citing 120 other healthcare providers in the state.
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From "De-Funding Planned Parenthood After It’s Caught Engaging in Fraud" by Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews.com 11/20/15
“There are only two Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state operating in about six metropolitan locations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa,” according to [Fallin's] letter. “However, there are more than 120 other metropolitan and rural providers available … all of whom provide a broader spectrum of health care services than Planned Parenthood’s limited metropolitan locations.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been involved in several lawsuits alleging that Planned Parenthood affiliates overbilled Medicaid, praised Fallin’s actions Thursday in a press release.
“Governor Fallin is right to recognize that taxpayer money should go to fund local community health centers, not to subsidize a scandal-ridden, billion-dollar abortion business,” said ADF Legal Counsel Kellie Fiedorek. “Oklahomans shouldn’t be forced to give their money to Planned Parenthood, which has a long track record of abusive and potentially fraudulent billing practices, not to mention that it has also been caught in authenticated undercover videos trafficking aborted babies’ body parts and has repeatedly failed to report the sexual abuse of girls. That tax money should be redirected to trusted health care providers.”
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From "Gov. Mary Fallin requests termination of Planned Parenthood contracts in Oklahoma" posted at KOCO-TV5 (Oklahoma City, OK) 11/19/15
[Gov. Fallin] also requested ending contracts with similar providers found to have a high billing error rate, have had past findings of over-billing or associate with other providers who do not adhere to the standards that are required to be granted access to public funds.
According to the news release, the state paid the two Planned Parenthood affiliates $100,145 for almost 20,000 claims in 2015, with the total payment being slightly more than $1 million because the majority of Planned Parenthood services qualify for a 90 percent federal match. Last year, Oklahoma paid $204,631 for more than 35,000 claims, making the federal matching funds slightly more than $2 million.
“We have a joint responsibility to the citizens in Oklahoma to hold providers to high standards that are imposed to allow an entity to receive taxpayer dollars,” Fallin wrote. “The recent behavior of the Planned Parenthood affiliates clearly demonstrates that these providers do not value the opportunity to serve their fellow Oklahomans with taxpayer funds. Indeed whether willful or simply negligent, the consistent submission of improper billings should disqualify these Planned Parenthood providers from participation in the Oklahoma Medicaid program.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read how Planned Parenthood teams up with schools by providing "kinky sex trainers" for kids.