Post by account_disabled on Feb 24, 2024 23:49:02 GMT -5
Right-wing activists have returned to the well of U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, this time to engineer the demise of Planned Parenthood. For Kacsmaryk, the anti-abortion lawyer turned Donald Trump appointee, the merits of the arguments before him seem to matter little as long as their results align with his record. That's a good thing because, experts told TPM, this new attack on the abortion provider has the structural integrity of a sandcastle at high tide. Texas attempted to expel Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program in 2017 after anti-abortion activists conducted an extremely dubious sting operation that sought to find organization officials discussing the illegal sale of fetal remains. A right-wing media storm ensued, but twelve states subsequently found no evidence of wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, and a federal court in California ordered activists to pay $2 million in damages to the organization, in part for the increase in the security measures that had to be imposed. in place after the video's release. A grand jury in Houston also indicted two of the anti-abortion .
Similar procedures unfolded in Louisiana, although the state and the organization eventually reached an agreement. Now, one of the anti-abortion activists behind the “cover-up,” who calls himself a “journalist,” has filed a qui tam lawsuit against Planned Parenthood on behalf of Texas, Louisiana, and the federal government. Qui tam lawsuits Algeria Mobile Number List allow people with evidence of fraud to bring cases against those who perpetrate fraud on behalf of the federal government (or certain states). The federal government declined to join the lawsuit, and Louisiana has not, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), Kacsmaryk's ideological brother-in-arms, happily jumped on board. The activist, known in court documents as Alex Doe, claims that under the federal False Claims Act (of which Texas has its own version), Planned Parenthood had been illegally pocketing Medicaid funds because it was informed that had been expelled from The Texas Program in 2017, but continued to provide services under the program until 2021. Here's the problem: In those intervening years, Planned Parenthood was actively fighting its expulsion in court and had obtained an injunction.
Federal that preserved the status quo. In other words, Texas, under a federal court order, could not kick Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid while the case was ongoing. Still, Alex Doe and Texas claim that Planned Parenthood now owes back payments for Medicaid funds it received during those years. But that is not all. The reason this new attack comes under the banner of the False Claims Act is because it carries considerable damage. Alex Doe wants three times the amount of money Planned Parenthood received during the period in question in damages, plus up to $11,000 each for the thousands of claims made during those years. Oh, and the whistleblower in successful False Claims lawsuits gets a big chunk of the money recovered by the government, up to 30 percent. Planned Parenthood has said that in total, the aid requested would cost a staggering $1.8 billion. It is a sum large enough to spell the end of the organization. “No one would do this to recover $10 million,” Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University's school of public health, told TPM. "They are doing it to activate the penalty because they know it would be the end of Planned Parenthood.
Similar procedures unfolded in Louisiana, although the state and the organization eventually reached an agreement. Now, one of the anti-abortion activists behind the “cover-up,” who calls himself a “journalist,” has filed a qui tam lawsuit against Planned Parenthood on behalf of Texas, Louisiana, and the federal government. Qui tam lawsuits Algeria Mobile Number List allow people with evidence of fraud to bring cases against those who perpetrate fraud on behalf of the federal government (or certain states). The federal government declined to join the lawsuit, and Louisiana has not, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), Kacsmaryk's ideological brother-in-arms, happily jumped on board. The activist, known in court documents as Alex Doe, claims that under the federal False Claims Act (of which Texas has its own version), Planned Parenthood had been illegally pocketing Medicaid funds because it was informed that had been expelled from The Texas Program in 2017, but continued to provide services under the program until 2021. Here's the problem: In those intervening years, Planned Parenthood was actively fighting its expulsion in court and had obtained an injunction.
Federal that preserved the status quo. In other words, Texas, under a federal court order, could not kick Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid while the case was ongoing. Still, Alex Doe and Texas claim that Planned Parenthood now owes back payments for Medicaid funds it received during those years. But that is not all. The reason this new attack comes under the banner of the False Claims Act is because it carries considerable damage. Alex Doe wants three times the amount of money Planned Parenthood received during the period in question in damages, plus up to $11,000 each for the thousands of claims made during those years. Oh, and the whistleblower in successful False Claims lawsuits gets a big chunk of the money recovered by the government, up to 30 percent. Planned Parenthood has said that in total, the aid requested would cost a staggering $1.8 billion. It is a sum large enough to spell the end of the organization. “No one would do this to recover $10 million,” Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University's school of public health, told TPM. "They are doing it to activate the penalty because they know it would be the end of Planned Parenthood.