Bloedow v. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest
Description: Alliance Defending Freedom has filed suit in federal court on behalf of Jonathan Bloedow, a Washington taxpayer who alleges that Planned Parenthood submitted “repeated false, fraudulent, and/or ineligible claims for reimbursement” to the state’s Department of Social and Health Services. The federal False Claims Act allows “whistleblowers” with inside information to expose fraudulent billing by government contractors.
9th Circuit to hear taxpayer's fraud allegations against Planned Parenthood
SEATTLE – Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden and ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot will be available for media interviews immediately following Aden’s oral argument Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on behalf of Jonathan Bloedow. Bloedow is a Washington taxpayer who alleges that Planned Parenthood submitted “repeated false, fraudulent, and/or ineligible claims for reimbursement” to the state’s Department of Social and Health Services.“The taxpayer dollars of Americans should be used responsibly and for the common good, not funneled to groups like Planned Parenthood that abuse the public’s trust,” said Aden. “Planned Parenthood’s financial bottom line doesn’t trump compliance with the law. We are asking the court to hold them accountable.”
The federal False Claims Act allows “whistleblowers” with inside information to expose fraudulent billing by government contractors. In July 2011, ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit Bloedow v. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest under the act. A federal district judge dismissed the case on technical grounds, wrongly concluding that another lawsuit against an entirely different Planned Parenthood affiliate based in California barred Bloedow’s claims, so ADF appealed to the 9th Circuit.
Bloedow’s lawsuit alleges that Planned Parenthood submitted false claims to Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services and its Health and Recovery Services Administration. HRSA runs the state’s Title XIX Medicaid program.
According to the suit, Bloedow discovered through his own research that Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest filed at least 25,000 false claims with HRSA for reimbursements in excess of the amount allowed for oral contraceptive pills and at least another 25,000 for reimbursements in excess of the amount allowed for “emergency contraceptive” (“Plan B”) pills under the federal government’s 340B drug reimbursement program. Total damages could be as much as $377,134,130.
Alliance Defending Freedom represents former Planned Parenthood facility director Sue Thayer in a separate False Claims Act lawsuit, Thayer v. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. In that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit reinstated the lawsuit after it, too, was first dismissed by a district judge.
Last year, Alliance Defending Freedom released its updated report to Congress that identified more than $129.7 million in waste, abuse, and potential fraud committed by Planned Parenthood, state family planning programs, and other organizations.
- Pronunciation guide: Theriot (TAIR’-ee-oh), Bloedow (BLAY’-doh)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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ABOUT Kevin Theriot
Kevin Theriot serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is a key member of the Center for Life Team working to defend pro-life laws and speech and protect medical rights of conscience. He has litigated cases in the areas of religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family. Theriot is admitted to the bar in eight states, the U.S. Supreme Court, and numerous other federal courts of appeal and district courts. Theriot received his law degree from Vanderbilt University and has been litigating First Amendment issues since 1993.