Oklahoma Health Dept. explains dropping Planned Parenthood from WIC program
BY SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer
Friday, October 05, 2012
10/05/12 at 5:10 PM
Correction: Numbers accompanying a Friday Tulsa World story about Planned Parenthood being discontinued as a provider for the Women, Infants and Children program in Oklahoma contained an incorrect figure. In fiscal year 2011, the Tulsa City-County Health Department had a WIC caseload of 149,099. This story has been corrected.
Related story: Editorial: WIC decision suspicious.
Local Planned Parenthood clinics that provide WIC services have had a relatively large decrease in caseloads and high cost per participant, along with faulty billing practices, officials with the Oklahoma State Department of Health said Thursday after opting last week not to renew the agency's contract with the federal Women, Infants and Children program.
But Planned Parenthood of the Heartland CEO Jill June continued to say Thursday that the contract termination was politically motivated.
The cumulative caseload for WIC providers in Tulsa County from October 2011 to July 2012 was 166,259, and Planned Parenthood's three clinics provided 16.6 percent of that care, according to a Tulsa World analysis of data from the state Department of Health.
Other local providers include Morton Health Services, the Tulsa City-County Health Department and the Margaret Hudson Program.
The Women, Infants and Children program provides food vouchers to low-income pregnant women, women who have recently given birth, and infants and children younger than 5.
With nine clinics, the Tulsa Health Department is the largest provider of WIC services in Tulsa County. Its clinics will be able to absorb those patients who can no longer go to Planned Parenthood, said Pam Rask, the department's division manager of health promotion and outreach.
Terry Bryce, chief of WIC services for the state Health Department, said two of the Planned Parenthood clinics have another WIC provider within 1 1/2 miles and that the other has a clinic within 3 1/2 miles.
However, the midtown Planned Parenthood clinic is open every other Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. No other WIC providers in the Tulsa area are open on Saturdays.
Rask said the Tulsa Health Department might consider opening on weekends if it becomes necessary.
"We're not opposed to exploring that particular option if it becomes a need in the community," she said.
June said in an interview Wednesday that a state Health Department employee called Planned Parenthood last week to tell its officials about the contract termination and said the Health Department wanted to "get rid" of Planned Parenthood.
Bryce said the employee was misinformed. He also said he has not discussed Planned Parenthood's performance with anyone outside the agency.
The announcement comes at a time when Planned Parenthood has been in the news frequently, with calls from anti-abortion advocates to discontinue its funding.
Planned Parenthood clinics in Oklahoma do not perform abortions, but they do provide referrals for them.
Planned Parenthood officials continued Thursday to attack the decision to not renew the WIC contract.
"The unclear reasoning and poor justification for eliminating access to WIC services for women and children through Planned Parenthood is backed by a political ideology to get rid of Planned Parenthood," June said in a statement. "If this shortsighted decision stands, mothers and young children will be forced to bear the consequences."
The midtown Planned Parenthood clinic had the fifth-highest decrease in WIC caseloads in the state from February 2010 to January 2011 and from February 2011 to January 2012. The other two clinics had the seventh- and ninth-highest, according to the state Health Department.
Data provided by the department show that the cost of supplying WIC services through Planned Parenthood WIC clinics in fiscal year 2012 is $12.07 per participant.
The amount for Morton Health Systems is $8.67; the cost for Tulsa Health Department clinics is $11.63; and the Margaret Hudson Program has a cost of $11.79, the data say.
Also, an audit reviewing invoice documentation from January 2011 found that Planned Parenthood did not provide adequate documentation for costs that were billed and incorrectly billed other costs.
Emails also show state Health Department employees asking Planned Parenthood for documentation to support the billing costs and clarification on how costs were determined.
The Health Department threatened in a letter in March to stop paying invoices until the necessary information is provided.
Bryce said Planned Parenthood eventually supplied some of the information but that the Health Department deducted $1,655 from its payment because of questionable costs.
June said Planned Parenthood met with the state Department of Health in June for an audit of the WIC program and answered any questions.
"There was never any indication of a problem regarding declining caseloads or billing practices," she said in a statement.
"We received no substantial documents following the audit voicing any concerns with our program."
WIC caseload for fiscal year 2011
| Morton Health Services |
17,451 |
| Planned Parenthood |
38,884 |
| Tulsa City-County Health Department |
49,099 |
| Margaret Hudson Program |
16,006 |
Cost per participant for fiscal year 2011
| Morton Health Services |
$9.54 |
| Planned Parenthood |
$11.86 |
| Tulsa City-County Health Department |
$10.95 |
| Margaret Hudson Program |
$11.05 |
WIC caseload for fiscal year 2012*
| Morton Health Services |
12,030 |
| Planned Parenthood |
27,550 |
| Tulsa City-County Health Department |
149,099 |
| Margaret Hudson Program |
13,298 |
Cost per participant for fiscal year 2012*
| Morton Health Services |
$8.67 |
| Planned Parenthood |
$12.07 |
| Tulsa Health Department |
$11.63 |
| Margaret Hudson Program |
$11.79 |
* The WIC program's fiscal year ends in September, but data for the last couple of months are not yet available.
Source Oklahoma State Department of Health
Original Print Headline: Health Dept. defends Planned Parenthood ouster
Shannon Muchmore 918-581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Jill June: The Planned Parenthood of the Heartland CEO says the Health Department action was politically motivated
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