Planned Parenthood deserves scrutiny in Trump admin's 50-state Medicaid audit

As Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz has announced a 50-state audit of Medicaid — calling on governors and state Medicaid directors to help "fight the War on Fraud" — perhaps states might want to consider taking a good, hard look at Planned Parenthood.

Oz suggests that states should "revalidate" any "Medicaid providers of services at high risk of waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption."

"It's time to make sure that providers of high risk services are valid and meet all the requirements to deliver care to Medicaid beneficiaries," Oz said in a video posted to X. "Revalidation works. It forces accountability. It removes bad actors and it sends a clear message that the Medicaid system is not an unguarded piggy bank."

Key Takeaways:

• CMS Administration Dr. Mehmet Oz sent letters to each state which calls on governors and Medicaid directors to "revalidate" Medicaid providers who provide "services at high risk of waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption."

• States are being asked to "provide a broader strategy on provider revalidations within 30 days."

• They are being asked to determine which services are "high risk" for these activities, and "to determine which "individuals and organizations" are "masquerading as health care providers" while defrauding Medicaid and the taxpayers.

• Planned Parenthood is an organization known to have documented cases of abuse, scandal, fraud, racism, pregnancy discrimination, breaches of privacy, and Medicaid fraud, which violate federal requirements for obtaining taxpayer funding. Yet, it still continues to receive Title X, Medicaid, and other taxpayer funding.

The Details:

According to Fox News:

• "The letters sent to the 50 governors all contained the same information directions, with Fox News Digital obtaining a copy sent to the state of Alabama."

• "A second letter was also sent to each state Medicaid director reiterating the call for a revalidation strategy tailored to each state."

The first letter read in part:

I write to request that your Medicaid program undertake a swift revalidation of Medicaid providers of services at high risk of waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption as part of each state's program integrity obligations under federal law. At the same time, your Medicaid leaders are being asked to provide a broader strategy on provider revalidations within 30 days.

You should not, however, view that strategy as a substitute for a swift review and revalidation of high-risk providers. We are requesting that you notify us of whether you intend to carry out such a swift revalidation, along with a proposed timetable, within 10 business days of receipt of this letter.

Please be advised that failure to do so will be considered as we evaluate the likelihood of fraud in each state moving forward.

Corrupt individuals and organizations masquerading as health care providers are defrauding Medicaid, and American taxpayers, of billions of dollars each year, placing valuable resources out of reach for those the program was intended to serve: low-income senior citizens, children, and disabled individuals.

... States have the ability to designate which providers are high-risk. However, CMS expects that your definition include any provider without a National Provider Identifier.

My agency stands ready to provide any necessary technical assistance. Ensuring that taxpayer funding is used in the Medicaid program to benefit only America's most vulnerable will require a coordinated effort by State and Federal governments to put an end to brazen fraud schemes that steal taxpayer dollars from programs intended to help the most vulnerable Americans.

I look forward to partnering with you to fight the War on Fraud. Together, we can make Medicaid stronger and more effective for the millions of Americans it serves.

The Associated Press reported:

Last month, Trump signed an executive order to create an anti-fraud task force across federal benefit programs led by Vice President JD Vance. It’s unclear whether Tuesday’s move is part of that effort, though Oz has been working closely with Vance on other investigations related to the task force.

Why It Matters:

Planned Parenthood, which presents itself as a health care provider while reporting various decreasing legitimate health services year after year, is a large recipient of taxpayer dollars via Medicaid and other funds.

While the letters sent by CMS Administrator Oz do not specifically call out Planned Parenthood, documented cases of abuse, scandal, fraud, racism, pregnancy discrimination, breaches of privacy, and Medicaid fraud have piled up against the abortion corporation — all of which violate federal requirements for obtaining taxpayer funding. 

The letters were issued shortly after the Trump administration approved certain Planned Parenthood affiliates to receive Title X family planning dollars for another year. The corporation lost federal Medicaid funding under the Trump Administration's Big Beautiful Bill, but this was for just one year — set to expire the day after our nation's 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026.

Pro-life leaders are now calling on the Senate to take action to extend the Medicaid defunding of abortion businesses, including Planned Parenthood, before time runs out on July 4.

Planned Parenthood's Abuses

Planned Parenthood has been accused multiple times of Medicaid fraud, and other abuses, yet it continues to be funded. In 2022, the State of Texas filed a lawsuit against “Planned Parenthood Federation of America and several Planned Parenthood locations in Texas, seeking recovery of $10 million in payments made by the Texas Medicaid program.”

Planned Parenthood has been embroiled in additional controversies, including accusations of abuse, scandal, fraud, racism, pregnancy discrimination, privacy breaches and repeatedly failing to report child sexual abuse - all which should disqualify them from receiving any state of federal dollars.

"Official government reports and other sources have documented repeated instances in which Planned Parenthood has been caught defrauding American taxpayers. The Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) website highlights several violations, stated Live Action's report, "The Case for Defunding Planned Parenthood."

Examples from the report include:

• Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains paid $18,808.92 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which relates to Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse (2017).

• The Texas Health and Human Services Commission “claimed Medicaid reimbursement of at least $129,000 for family planning services provided by Planned Parenthood of North Texas that did not comply with Federal and State Medicaid requirements” (2015).

• Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Inc. in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, agreed to pay $1,572,752.80 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law (2004-2015).

• Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) in Houston paid $4.3 million “to resolve civil claims that it billed for items and services related to birth control counseling, STD testing, and contraceptives when they were not medically necessary or were not provided” (2013).

• Separately, PPGC agreed to pay $1.4 million in a Texas Medicaid billing fraud case (2013).

In addition, many former Planned Parenthood employees have publicly accused the agency of fraud.

Live Action's report also discussed a 2017 report published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute and Alliance Defending Freedom, which identified waste, abuse, and potential fraud — totaling at least $8.5 million across multiple locations:

• California (two audits of two affiliates): $5,213,645.92

• Connecticut: $18,791

• Illinois: $387,000

• Louisiana (two audits of one affiliate): $6,147.18

• Maine: $33,294.83

• Nebraska: $3,537

• New York (seven audits of four affiliates): $1,615,083.25

• Oklahoma: Overbilling rates have been documented as 14.1%, 18%, and 20.3%

• Texas (two audits of two affiliates): $538,703.10 - $658,735.97

• Washington (three audits of two or three affiliates):$640,595.88

• Wisconsin (27 audits of one affiliate): $95,466.04

Planned Parenthood's Funding

Planned Parenthood's recently-released 2024-2025 annual report exposes the corporation's highest recorded abortions (434,450) and taxpayer funding ($832 MILLION) to date.

Due in part to taxpayer funding under Title X as well as Medicaid, Planned Parenthood’s total revenue was approximately $2.14 billion in 2024-2025.

In the past 25 years at Planned Parenthood:

• Annual abortions have more than doubled (197k v. 434.5k)

• Taxpayer funding has increased by 310% (nearly $203M v. $832M – year ending 6/30/2025)

In 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report revealing that from 2019-2021, Planned Parenthood — along with four regional abortion facilities and two international abortion organizations — received nearly $2 billion from U.S. taxpayers, a similar amount to what GAO documented for FY2016-FY2018.

Live Action News previously documented that in just those same three years, while an average of $592 million federal dollars was sent to Planned Parenthood (2019-2021), they committed 1.11 million abortions.

The report noted that Medicaid and CHIP payments “include funding from both state and federal sources."

The Bottom Line:

While revalidations are required every five years, Oz's letters are "formally asking" that states "develop and submit a comprehensive two-year provider revalidation (PR) strategy" which includes a description of how a state would ensure the "accuracy" of "provider enrollment data through revalidation and other approaches such as provider directory validation."

If states truly value "protecting taxpayer funds from fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption," then there should be no issue with putting a plan in place. That action remains to be seen.