Key facts
- The Justice Department filed on Friday night to join Texas' 2021 Medicaid fraud lawsuit against Planned Parenthood.
- Texas and an anonymous plaintiff seek the return of Medicaid money plus additional penalties from Planned Parenthood.
- Planned Parenthood said it would be forced to shut down in Texas if it loses the case.
- The 5th Circuit ruled in August that Planned Parenthood's appeal of a 2023 immunity denial was premature.
The US Justice Department moved to join Texas' lawsuit accusing Planned Parenthood of Medicaid fraud, according to a court filing made days after voters elected Democrat Nathan Johnson as the state's next attorney general. The filing was made on Friday night, Reuters reported.
The move would give the federal government a direct role in a 2021 case championed by outgoing Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who lost his bid to become a US senator. Paxton and an anonymous plaintiff are seeking to force Planned Parenthood to return money it allegedly collected from Texas' and Louisiana's Medicaid programs after the states cut off its funding, plus additional penalties.
The lawsuit accuses Planned Parenthood of violating the federal False Claims Act by continuing to bill and collect payments from the states' Medicaid programs after the initial termination decisions, and failing to repay what it received once the terminations took effect. Planned Parenthood has said billing the states while their termination decisions were paused by courts was legal, and that it cannot be held liable because it was giving legal advice to affiliates. The group has also said it would be forced to shut down in Texas if it loses the case.
The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in August that Planned Parenthood's appeal of a 2023 decision denying the national group immunity from the lawsuit was premature, paving the way for the case to continue after a nearly three-year pause.