Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast took the occasion of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s signing of a new omnibus pro-life law today to announce it was closing three of its 12 clinics. The reason, per Huffington Post:
The three clinics are located in Bryan, Huntsville and Lufkin, Texas. They are closing in response to a new package of a new package of abortion restrictions signed into law on Thursday and funding cuts to Texas’ Women’s Health Program that were passed by the Texas state legislature in 2011. Out of the three Planned Parenthood clinics that are closing, only the Bryan clinic performs abortions.
Planned Parenthood timed its notice to steal media attention away from pro-lifers, while also trying to put Texas le
gislators on the defensive. But was this really an attempt to erase dots between the shutdowns and PPGC’s problem with Medicaid fraud?
Most interesting is the former employees who have accused PPGC of Medicaid fraud worked at two of the closing clinics.
Karen Reynolds, who filed a lawsuit in 2011, worked at the Lufkin facility; and Abby Johnson, who filed a lawsuit in 2012, worked at the Bryan clinic.
The charges may or may not lead to prosecutions, but my first thought today was that subsequent attempts by PPGC to clean up its books resulted in such a noticeable loss of profits it had to shutter the doors at 1/4 of its centers, two of which were surely under added scrutiny.
I spoke with Abby Johnson this afternoon, who agreed the Medicaid fraud charges had something to do with the closures.
“I think a lot of things went into account,” Abby added. “The loss of income from the State of Texas and the new regulations played a part. Then there was the constant presence of pro-lifers in Bryan that took away the bulk of its income from surgical abortions. Plus, all three facilities were 40 Days for Life sites. And, yes, PPGC also knows the state is watching their books, so they can no longer get away with charging for services they don’t provide.
“What’s makes this even more hilarious is PPGC just spent so much money on the Lufkin facility, which was abortion ready but not asc (ambulatory surgical center) ready,” Abby said. “With the passage of HB2, they knew they could never perform abortions there.”
Indeed, less than six years ago PPGC opened its 6,700 sq ft, $1.5 million Lufkin clinic….
Major donors to the Lufkin clinic included Buddy and Ellen Temple and David and Jean Dolben, now had.
Not one to let poor planning stop it, PPGC broke ground in May for a new $4.2 million, 7,000 sq ft abortion clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, to open in late 2014/early 2015.
This action prompted the Louisiana legislature to open its own investigation of the PP affiliate in June.
LifeNews.com Note: Jill Stanek fought to stop “live birth abortions” after witnessing one as an RN at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. That led to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act legislation, signed by President Bush, that would ensure that proper medical care be given to unborn children who survive botched abortion attempts.
