Planned Parenthood sues state agency to block clinic record seizures

Agents from the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Units entered three Planned Parenthood health centers, including the one in Bloomington, earlier this month and demanded medical records on minors who had received health services. Planned Parenthood is now attempting to block efforts of Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter to seize more than 80 medical records of Planned Parenthood patients.\n"This is a clear-cut case of abuse of power. Instead of protecting medical privacy rights, the attorney general is selling them out to this fishing expedition," said Betty Cockrum, CEO of Planned Parenthood, in a statement. "We take our patients' privacy very seriously."\nPlanned Parenthood said they complied with the agents' demands and released limited information. Following that instance, the director of the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Allen Pope, informed Planned Parenthood of his intent to seize an additional 73 medical records from 19 Planned Parenthood health centers. \nDuring the procedures, Planned Parenthood requested information regarding the necessity for the medical records. In response, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit refused to provide an explanation of the nature of the investigation, according to the Planned Parenthood Web site. Planned Parenthood believed the organization was obligated to provide the information the Web site stated.\nNow, Planned Parenthood feels it was not obligated to do so and has filed a lawsuit with the Marion County Superior Court to block Attorney General Carter's effort to seize confidential medical records of their clients.\n"The form letter provided by the investigator in each of the initial visits was neither dated nor specifically addressed. It provided vague or implausible rationale for the investigation. Though we have requested additional information, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has refused to reveal any further information or to provide an explanation for its sweeping scope," Cockrum said. "Our staff is trained to comply with the law, and when we handed over the initial records, we believed that we were compelled to do so by law. However, upon further review, it is our belief that the attorney general has twisted the law for some other purpose."\nSpokesperson for Attorney General Carter Stacey Schneider said his office received a complaint of abuse and is demonstrating its duties to investigate into the matter more thoroughly.\n"We are responsible for investigating complaints of abuse and neglect," Schneider said. "So as part of those duties we are pursing a compliant of potential neglected patients for failing to report child molestation, that's part of our statutory duties and as part of a pending investigation." \n"You need to see history of what's been provided, done in any abuse of neglect case, that is going to be encompassed in medical record," he said. "There's no other place we could really obtain that info outside of information with caregivers."\nSchneider maintains the office is only using authority necessary to investigate this claim of abuse.\n"We believe it's within our authority to investigate this neglect by a Medicaid provider," Schneider said. "We have state duty to pursue complaints and that's what we're doing."\nThe letter given to Planned Parenthood by agents upon entering the clinic stated, "The Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is investigating an incident report or complaint alleging possible patient abuse or neglect. ... The Indiana Medical Fraud Control Unit has the legal authority to review original documents upon demand. We are not required by law to provide advance notice of out investigations."\nPlanned Parenthood representative Teresa Browning said this latest instance is in direct violation of patients' medical privacy rights.\n"It is pretty scary to think that the government can request files," Browning said. "If a young person is being abused by a parent, we are trained to identify abuse and report it. Our staff is trained to identify abuse, not just sexual abuse. We can help get people help. But if you scare people from getting health care, you really perpetuate a bigger problem and people will be scared, especially young people, to seek help."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Lindsay Jancek at lmjancek@indiana.edu.