Planned Parenthood guilty of fraud?

Courtesy of One News Now

Allie Martin - OneNewsNow EXCLUSIVE - 9/29/2008 6:00:00 AM

A collection of faith-based groups is asking the federal government to investigate allegations that affiliates of Planned Parenthood in California may have fraudulently charged the federal government millions of dollars.

Planned Parenthood receives federal funding through the Title X Family Planning program, a 90-percent Medicaid match for family planning, and a federal program to purchase drugs from manufacturers at a reduced price.

In 2004, state auditors in California began reviewing Planned Parenthood affiliates; however, the audit was stopped after only one review was completed. That review found that Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties overbilled the government more than $5.2 million. Ray Ruddy, president of Gerard Health Foundation, is leading the call for the federal investigation.

"Everybody, since Revolutionary times, has been billing the federal government at the cost -- that is the invoice cost to them, plus a fee," Ruddy explains. "Planned Parenthood in California -- and we suspect [other Planned Parenthood agencies] across the country -- has been billing at what they call their normal and customary rates."

Ruddy has written Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, asking for a federal audit of Planned Parenthood. Internet ads have also been placed, which encourage federal contractors to use the same billing methods as Planned Parenthood.

"It looks to us, very much, that we found there are a separate set of rules for Planned Parenthood than the rest of us -- and there should not be. That's why the lawsuit was filed," he contends. "Hopefully the court will act on this, and everybody should be operating under the same set of rules."

So far, Ruddy says he has not received a response from the federal government. In all, Ruddy estimates Planned Parenthood could have overcharged the government hundreds of millions of dollars.