State could pay $100,000 for Planned Parenthood appeal
Louisiana could pay private attorney Jimmy Faircloth as much as $100,000 to appeal a lower judge's decision that blocked Gov. Bobby Jindal from defunding Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.
Faircloth has already billed the Department of Health and Hospitals nearly $40,000 for his services defending department Secretary Kathy Kliebert's decision to strip Planned Parenthood of Medicaid funding. The organization obtained a preliminary injunction on Oct. 18 that allowed Planned Parenthood to continue treating more than 5,200 Medicaid patients at clinics in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Records indicate Faircloth is likely to continue to bill the state for services on the appeal because of the case filing schedule: Briefs are due to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Jan. 12 -- the day after the inauguration and Jindal's final day in office. The timing means that Democratic Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards will be the one to decide whether to continue with the appeal, and whether to keep Faircloth as outside counsel.
Edwards issued the following statement when asked whether he would continue the appeal.
"As governor, I will seek to end all reimbursements for any provider that has broken the law," Edwards said. "It is the current administration's belief that Planned Parenthood has violated administrative law. I eagerly await the results of the ongoing investigation into whether that is accurate."
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