Justice Department joins Texas Medicaid-fraud lawsuit against Planned Parenthood

The Justice Department is stepping into Texas' years-old lawsuit accusing Planned Parenthood of Medicaid fraud, according to a court filing made Friday night, Reuters reported — days after Texans elected Democrat Nathan Johnson as the state's next attorney general.

The move would give the federal government a direct role in a 2021 case championed by outgoing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who lost his bid for the U.S. Senate. 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 heavy additional penalties. Planned Parenthood has said it would be forced to shut down in Texas if it loses the case.

The lawsuit accuses Planned Parenthood of violating the federal False Claims Act by continuing to bill and collect Medicaid payments after the initial termination decisions, and by failing to repay what it received once those 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.

In August, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously 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.