Dive Brief:
- Before a Wednesday hearing involving Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, the Department of Justice filed a “statement of interest."
- The filing states that Jindal’s decision to terminate Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast from the state’s Medicaid program “without providing any justification related to [the organization’s] qualifications to provide medical services” would violate the Medicaid Act.
- The hearing is scheduled the same day Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid contract is set to be cancelled.
Dive Insight:
The DOJ action is in conjunction with a second lawsuit from Planned Parenthood filed against Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R).
The governors are attempting to cut out the state's Medicaid funding for the organization in the wake of a political uproar over a series of videos allegedly showing Planned Parenthood using controversial methods to extract fetal tissue for medical research. The videos were recorded and released by undercover anti-abortion activists.
HHS has stressed states are not allowed to dissolve Medicaid arrangements with a provider based on the medical services it provides, and such action is only admissible in response to fraud or criminal acts. If these states are found to be violating federal Medicaid law, they could lose funding for the program.