Spokane, Wash., Aug 13, 2009 / 18:44 pm
An audit has uncovered information that Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest has required unnecessary office visits by its poorest patients, securing over half a million dollars in excess payments from Medicaid.
The audit has also discovered questionable billing procedures and unauthorized staff prescribing and dispensing birth control pills, Doug Porter, Washington’s Medicaid director, told the Spokesman-Review.
The excess taxpayer-funded Medicaid payments total $629,143, out of a total of about $7.7 million in payments. Interest of one percent per month will begin accruing on August 20 if the clinic does not repay the state.
The audit was launched after staff with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services became suspicious of the frequency of clinic visits by Medicaid patients.