DOJ Plans to Join Texas Planned Parenthood Suit

The Justice Department plans to intervene in Texas’ Medicaid-fraud lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, giving the federal government a direct role in a case first brought in 2021 and championed by outgoing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Texas and a whistleblower allege that Planned Parenthood continued billing Medicaid after Texas and Louisiana moved to terminate its affiliates from their programs, and are seeking repayment, penalties and fees totaling more than $1.8 billion. Planned Parenthood says its billing was lawful while court orders paused the terminations and calls the case an attempt to force it out of business; it says it will continue fighting. The federal move comes as Democrat Nathan Johnson is set to become Texas attorney general, and the case is expected to proceed to trial in 2027.