Anti-abortion group was awarded millions but only helped 5 percent of the 70,000 it vowed to serve
By: Brianna Stone, The Dallas Morning News, September 26, 2018
AUSTIN — An anti-abortion family planning group in Texas that served less than 5 percent of the clients it pledged to cover was awarded a third multimillion-dollar contract from the state.
The Heidi Group served only 3,300 clients out of nearly 70,000 it told the state it would cover in fiscal year 2017, according to data from the Health and Human Services Commission that was first obtained by the Texas Observer.
The state’s Healthy Texas Women and Family Planning Program offer free and low-cost family planning services, to low-income women who aren’t eligible for Medicaid or who lose Medicaid coverage 60 days after giving birth. The Round Rock-based Heidi Group steers these women to health care providers in their network.
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Campaign for Accountability, a nonpartisan group focused on government accountability and ethics, has also filed a complaint against the Heidi Group, saying it stole millions of dollars by taking funds for services they never intended to provide.