Posted on 11/08/2019 9:29:44 PM PST by Morgana
An anti-abortion group that came under fire for failing to provide services to thousands of Texas women must repay $1.5 million in overpayments and prohibited costs, state investigators said Thursday.
The findings, announced by the office of the health inspector general, are a new blow to the Heidi Group. The organization had hoped to replace Planned Parenthood as a top family planning provider, but was cut off from millions in funding last year after failing to serve tens of thousands of low-income women.
The office said on Thursday it had uncovered “serious contractual violations” and is expanding its inquiry to the entire span of the Heidi Group’s contracts, going back to 2016. That could mean additional repayments.
Forensic accountants found the group had paid medical providers hundreds of thousands in excess fees, had overspent on payroll and fringe benefits, and had expensed thousands in unallowable costs like food, gift cards, clothing and retail membership fees, according to a copy of the internal investigation obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
The inquiry covered a seven month period, from September 2017 to March 2018.
“It's a travesty when you look at all the women who should have been receiving services and were not because of this,” said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. “We're talking about women who don't have means to afford health care like many of us do.”
The commission originally awarded the Heidi Group $6.7 million, despite concerns it had never contracted with the state and had no experience serving women in clinical settings. The nonprofit, created years ago as an activist outfit, promised to serve nearly 70,000 women each year, but only ended up serving a few thousand by 2017, according to health officials.
(Excerpt) Read more at houstonchronicle.com ...
Sounds like they reached too far.
No Lamborghini.
If only they had just spent that money on political campaigns like planned parenthood does.
Not enough.
First thought was the Planned Parenthood cabal came after them but, reading the article, the group did it to themselves. That’s a shame. They had an opportunity to do something good and blew it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.