Six Leon County case managemers are facing charges of Medicaid fraud after an investigation by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office. The six were arrested in connection with more than $170,000 in Medicaid fraud. All of those arrested worked for … Read More
AUSTIN – The widening fallout from a no-bid contract scandal claimed the job of a fourth top state official Friday when Health and Human Services Commission deputy chief of staff Casey Haney said he, too, would resign. Haney, a trusted … Read More
In the latest in a string of high-profile resignations at the Health and Human Services Commission, Casey Haney — who received $97,000 in college tuition against agency policy — quit Friday. Haney, who was deputy chief of staff for Executive … Read More
The assistant to Texas Health and Human Services Commission chief Kyle Janek who received a pre-paid MBA at taxpayer’s expense resigned on Friday. “It is clear that my continued employment is a distraction from the work of you and the 54,000 … Read More
Amid calls for Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek to resign over a contracting scandal, sources close to Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said Thursday Abbott won’t make a decision about Janek’s future until after the completion of state … Read More
The double-sided city of Texarkana, its residents sometimes quip, has two of everything. There are the mayors: one for the 36,000 people living west of Highway 71 in Texas, another for the 30,000 on the Arkansas side of town. There are the … Read More
AutosJobsReal Estate 45° eNewspaper Subscribe Sign In HOUSTON POLITICS & POLICY HOMELOCALUS & WORLDSPORTSBUSINESSOPINIONARTS & ENTERTAINMENTLIFESTYLEINSIDER HoustonPolitics & PolicyEducationElection 2014HC InvestigationsMost-read StoriesSpecial SectionsObituaries Free Access View You’ve been granted free access to this Houston Chronicle article. AUSTIN – The chief … Read More
One month after she was put on paid administrative leave, Erica Stick has resigned as chief of staff at the Health and Human Services Commission. In December, Stick — the wife of embattled former commission chief counsel Jack Stick — … Read More
Can common sense trump partisan politics? The question is especially apropos these days in Texas, which accounts for about 25 percent of the 4 million Americans who would gain health insurance if their state’s lawmakers expanded Medicaid. The healthcare industry knows … Read More
Veteran state Sen. John Whitmire has called for the resignation of Kyle Janek, the top official at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which is now at the center of state and federal investigations for its multimillion-dollar, no-bid deals … Read More
One of the most shameful gaps in the American health care system involves the country’s poorest children. They can’t get basic dental treatment. It’s not that they don’t have insurance—many of them do. The problem is that dentists won’t treat … Read More
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Rita Gorenflo’s 7-year-old son Nathaniel was in severe pain from a sinus infection. But since the boy was covered by Medicaid, she couldn’t immediately find a specialist willing to see him. After days of calling, … Read More
The FBI is now investigating the multimillion-dollar, no-bid deal brokered by officials at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, whose chief is facing increasing pressure from lawmakers who want answers. And Gov.-elect Greg Abbott has assembled a special “strike … Read More
A Michigan physician involved in a $2.1 million home health care fraud scheme was sentenced today to 15 months in prison. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the … Read More
The mastermind of a more than $700,000 stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to commit theft of public money, theft of public money and aggravated identity theft, the Department of Justice, the … Read More
Controversial no-bid contracts that resulted in a firing, a resignation, and an apparent criminal investigation into the Texas Health and Human Services Commission have spurred further inquiry from both the governor’s office and the agency’s executive commissioner. Gov.-elect Greg Abbott … Read More
AUSTIN – The director of Texas’ massive state health agency personally pushed lawmakers to approve a $90 million extension of a major contract even after news reports showed the initial deal was awarded without competition and potentially subject to conflicts … Read More
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the creation of an independent “strike force” to review the state’s largest health agency, specifically how it awards contracts to private vendors. “In the wake of recent revelations at the Health and Human Services Commission, … Read More
On the eve of the semi-annual campaign finance reporting deadline, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott’s office confirmed he returned a $10,000 campaign contribution from the CEO of the beleaguered company at the center of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission contracting … Read More
The Sunset Commission took its final votes Wednesday on a body of all recommendations, including a 2,300-page rewrite of the health and human services code to align the code to both current practices and recommended changes at its related agencies. … Read More
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott has enlisted two state government veterans to quickly review contracting practices and oversight in Medicaid and social services programs. The incoming GOP chief executive asked former deputy comptroller Billy Hamilton and Agriculture Department financial officer Heather Griffith … Read More
An appellate court sided with the state in dismissing a whistleblower claim by a former government lawyer who alleged that his agency was improperly taking reimbursements from Medicaid recipients. F. Michael McMillen, a lawyer with more than 20 years of … Read More
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott will deploy an independent “strike force” to delve into the state’s beleaguered health agency, whose contracting with an Austin tech company is already the subject of a criminal investigation and inquiry by the state auditor. “In the … Read More
January 13, 2015 — Over the past 10 years, Medicaid reimbursement rates for pediatric dental services have not kept up with inflation, but private insurance rates in most states have seen inflation-related adjustments, according to a new report from the … Read More
Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek today announced that he’s assembling a team of experts to help strengthen oversight and monitoring of contracts. “The primary way we deliver services across our agencies is through contracts, and it … Read More
Since November, the chief executive of Austin tech company 21CT has repeatedly said she first met Jack Stick in 2011, when she and the former state official began brokering a multimillion-dollar, no-bid deal that is now the subject of a … Read More
AUSTIN – The company that won a massive no-bid state contract now embroiled in scandal has decided to launch an aggressive campaign to defend its reputation and other business deals. Austin technology firm 21CT has hired an all-star cast of … Read More
If Jack Stick could be any animal, he would be a liger. A cross-breed between a lion and a tiger might seem like a whimsical answer to the question posed in the 2011 job interview, just before he was hired … Read More
AUSTIN, TEXAS A top deputy at Texas’ massive state health agency received the job without any competition and then was granted nearly $100,000 to pay for his graduate school tuition, according to state records. Casey Haney, a former aide to … Read More
In violation of its own policy, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission paid $97,020 so a top aide to Commissioner Kyle Janek — and former aide to ousted chief counsel Jack Stick — could pursue an MBA degree, The … Read More
AUSTIN – A well-connected former political aide landed a lucrative job at Texas’ sprawling state health commission without having to apply, and then got his boss to give him a lump sum of nearly $100,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund … Read More
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said Thursday he wants to replace the Texas Sunset Commission with a citizen-led panel on government waste. Speaking at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual Policy Orientation conference, Abbott said the Sunset system “seldom eliminates unnecessary agencies.” … Read More
Everybody knows going to the dentist is important, yet half of American adults skip out on regular dental care. Some avoid dentistry out of fear of pain or sheer busyness, but a large portion of Americans can’t afford it without … Read More
AUSTIN –Texas state health officials have decided not to release any more records about a controversial no-bid contract until a criminal investigation has been completed, reversing an earlier pledge to produce the public documents. Spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman told reporters this … Read More
A state senator wants the Texas auditor to review how a private firm was selected to operate a state psychiatric hospital in Terrell. The request from state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, is the second recent call for an audit of the way … Read More
A New York City dentist from Rockland is facing felony counts of defrauding Medicaid by submitting phony bills for care he didn’t provide, officials said Thursday. Howard Rothenberg, 64, of West Nyack, was charged with billing the taxpayer-funded health insurance … Read More
COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that Ohio has joined four states and the federal government to settle allegations that one of the leading providers of dialysis services in the United States paid illegal kickbacks to induce … Read More
A leading state senator says she will propose tougher safeguards against unethical behavior by those involved in awarding contracts to the private vendors who increasingly deliver medical care and social services to vulnerable Texans. Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, is … Read More
New Mexico’s Medicaid director, who was involved in the state’s controversial behavioral health shake-up in 2013, is leaving her $103,000-a-year position later this month to go to work for the private contractor that had set the provider overhaul in motion. … Read More
January 6, 2015 — Due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Medicaid market for dental care will grow significantly nationwide, according to new research by the ADA Health Policy Institute. But translating expanded Medicaid dental benefits … Read More
