REJECT Planned Parenthood: Skirting federal requirements while collecting taxpayer dollars

Recipients of federal taxpayer dollars are required to report child sexual abuse, protect patient privacy, and refrain from discriminating based on race and other characteristics — yet Planned Parenthood, which received $700M in government dollars last year alone, has repeatedly failed to comply.

Documented cases of abuse, scandal, fraud, racism, pregnancy discrimination, breaches of privacy, and Medicaid fraud have piled up against Planned Parenthood — all of which violate federal requirements for obtaining taxpayer funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees multiple agencies within the federal government including the Title X federal family planning program, administered through the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where the majority of Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding originates.

Mandatory Reporting 

Live Action News has documented the horrific way Planned Parenthood has failed to report child sexual abuse including cases of multiple victims being returned to sexual abusers after interactions with Planned Parenthood staff.

Under Pressure: Pushed to Abort — The Body of Evidence with Live Action's Carole Novielli

A May 2008 presentation by Susan B. Moskosky, Director of the Office of Family Planning/Office of Population Affairs at HHS, made it clear that Title X recipients are expected to report child sexual abuse. As previously noted, OPA’s 2014 Title X Family Planning Guidelines stated that “all Title X providers must comply with State laws requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.” This was also found in the 2014 Program Requirements for Title X Funded Family Planning Projects.

A March 2016 Congressional Research Service report said that reporting suspicion of child sexual abuse is expected of Title X providers, saying that despite receiving confidential services, “Title X providers are not exempt from state notification and reporting laws on child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.”

Sex Abuse Cover Up at Planned Parenthood - Recorded Cases

OPA’s July 2022 Title X handbook and updated handbook from December 2024 similarly states that “… no provider of services under title X of the PHS Act shall be exempt from any State law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.”

And as previously reported, an Office of Inspector General report published in 2020 stated that sexually transmitted diseases, as well as coding for “[e]ncounter for pregnancy test and childbirth and childcare instruction,” may be indicative of potential child abuse.

Despite these very specific requirements, Planned Parenthood has repeatedly failed to report child sexual abuse.

Privacy Protection Requirements for Federal Dollars

Protecting the privacy of clients is paramount for organizations which handle protected health information, and it is required by Government agencies to receive federal funding. Yet, Planned Parenthood has failed to protect the private health records of individual clients, and its own negligence has led to privacy breaches against hundreds of thousands of clients.

Under HHS, “The awards process is governed by laws and policies – both federal government-wide and HHS-specific,” the HHS Administrative and National Policy Requirements (updated February 2025) handbook states, adding that staff must “complete annual cybersecurity and privacy training.”

“Individuals, organizations, and agencies that meet the definition of a covered entity under HIPAA must comply with the Rules’ requirements to protect the privacy and security of health information and must provide individuals with certain rights with respect to their health information,” the HHS website states.

HHS’ website acknowledges that “Most of us believe that our medical and other health information is private and should be protected, and we want to know who has this information. The Privacy Rule, a Federal law, gives you rights over your health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information. The Privacy Rule applies to all forms of individuals’ protected health information, whether electronic, written, or oral. The Security Rule is a Federal law that requires security for health information in electronic form.”

The Title X handbook is clear that recipients must protect patient privacy and they cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or sex, etc.

Under the heading “Project Administration,” the 2022 Title X handbook (updated December of 2024), makes clear that recipients must protect patient privacy and…

Ensure that all information as to personal facts and circumstances obtained by the project staff about individuals receiving services must be held confidential and must not be disclosed without the individual’s documented consent, except as may be necessary to provide services to the patient or as required by law, with appropriate safeguards for confidentiality. Information may otherwise be disclosed only in summary, statistical, or other form that does not identify the individual. Reasonable efforts to collect charges without jeopardizing client confidentiality must be made. Recipients must inform the client of any potential for disclosure of their confidential health information to policyholders where the policyholder is someone other than the client. (42 CFR § 59.10(a)).

When a privacy breach takes place, an individual can file a complaint with the federal OCR, which is responsible for enforcing the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, originally passed in 1996, which “establishes federal standards protecting sensitive health information from disclosure without patient’s consent,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.

Government Agencies Prohibit Discrimination and Fraud

Planned Parenthood, founded and buoyed by eugenicists and dubbed by its own staffers as “systemically racist,” has been accused of discrimination by multiple employees, with allegations of racism and of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), of failing to pay employees a decent wage, of shoddy treatment, of discriminating against pregnant employees, of sexual harassment, of wrongful termination, and of prioritizing profits over care. Staffers have alleged the organization is “more concerned” with power and money than anything else and 

In February 2025, the New York Times reported similar allegations.

HHS’ website requires that recipients “administer your project in compliance with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age and, in some circumstances, religion, conscience, and sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy).”

OPA’s Title X handbook for 2022 and updated December of 2024, makes clear under the heading “Project Administration” that recipients must “Provide services in a manner that does not discriminate against any client based on religion, race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, number of pregnancies, or marital status. (42 CFR § 59.5(a)(4)).”

Medicaid Fraud and Misleading Information

Planned Parenthood utilizes deceptive marketing to target women and young girls. The corporation has also been accused of profiting off of the bodies of the children they abort, while former Planned Parenthood employees publicly accused the agency of fraud.

A 2017 report identified waste, abuse, and potential fraud totaling at least $8.5 million across multiple PP locations, and the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) website highlights violations in which Planned Parenthood has been caught defrauding American taxpayers, including the following:

• PP Great Plains and Comprehensive Health of PP 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 PP of North Texas that did not comply with Federal and State Medicaid requirements” (2015).

• PP 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).

• PP 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).

OIG can audit recipients of tax dollars when allegations are submitted.

The HHS Administrative and National Policy Requirements (updated February 2025) handbook “compiles many of the laws and policies that may apply to awards, but it is not intended to be an exhaustive list or to reproduce the full text.” The HHS list includes the prohibition of discrimination based on numerous factors, including sex, religion, race, color, national origin, false and misleading information, and more:

Under 45 CFR 75.371, the federal government can withhold funds for deficiencies it uncovers. Title X’s December 2024 handbook is clear that “applicants and recipients must disclose, in a timely manner, in writing to the HHS Awarding Agency, with a copy to the HHS Office of the Inspector General, all information related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the federal award….”

Planned Parenthood’s abuses should result in the immediate defunding of the organization.