Republican Gov. Mary Fallin urged the Oklahoma Health Care Authority Thursday to end its contracts with Planned Parenthood affiliates due to a high rate of billing errors.
In a review of Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma in Oklahoma City and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Tulsa, OHCA found the organizations were not improperly using Medicaid funds, but had billing error rates of 20.3 percent and 14.2 percent.
"These results are alarming," Gov. Fallin wrote in a letter to Nico Gomez, CEO of OHCA. "These errors result in overbilling to the Oklahoma taxpayer. The lack of attention to the requirements imposed on a responsible provider is a continuing problem for these Planned Parenthood affiliates."
Gov. Fallin's move to end contracts with Planned Parenthood follows in the footsteps of other states like Texas and Louisiana, which cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood affiliates due to leaked video footage of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal organs. Planned Parenthood has said the videos were heavily edited and falsely portrayed the organization, which does not benefit financially from tissue donation.
Gov. Fallin said in a statement the termination of Planned Parenthood contracts in Oklahoma "will not interfere with a woman's ability to have a free choice of healthcare provider services." The state has six Planned Parenthood locations.
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