The Justice Department notified a federal court Friday that it plans to intervene in a Medicaid billing lawsuit against Planned Parenthood seeking more than $1.8 billion. The case began in 2021 when an anonymous plaintiff identified as Alex Doe sued under the False Claims Act, which allows private whistleblowers to pursue alleged fraud against the government. Texas joined the case in 2022, alleging Planned Parenthood improperly kept Medicaid payments while fighting removal from the program.
About $10 million in payments is disputed. Damages and penalties raise the demand above $1.8 billion. Both sides have proposed an April 2027 trial before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.
The federal move comes after Democrat Nathan Johnson won the Texas attorney general race to succeed Republican Ken Paxton, who had championed the case. Johnson has promised to drop litigation he determines was politically motivated and to stop suing out-of-state abortion pill prescribers. He has not committed to a position on the Planned Parenthood lawsuit, saying Sunday, “When I take office as Attorney General, I will take appropriate action in the interests of my state.”
Planned Parenthood has called the lawsuit “meritless.” Susan Baker Manning, a senior vice president for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the administration is using the Justice Department to try to shut down Planned Parenthood through legal action. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said her group welcomes the department’s decision to “stand with the whistleblower in this case.”
The case matters beyond Texas because it tests whether federal power will be used to hold the abortion industry accountable for Medicaid dollars. Pro-life leaders are also watching the administration’s handling of abortion drug policy, including the Food and Drug Administration’s mifepristone study and litigation over telehealth and mail-order access. The next steps in court and at federal agencies will shape how strongly the government defends the sanctity of life and protects taxpayers from alleged abuse.
