On April 1, Texas’ most powerful elected officials gathered at the state Capitol to rail against Medicaid. In a packed press conference room with protesters shouting outside the door, Republican Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and U.S. Sens. … Read More
A year after Texas was slated to increase Medicaid payments to primary care physicians under the Affordable Care Act, the state has received federal approval to implement the change. Although the ACA required states to increase payments to primary care … Read More
To address privacy concerns raised by state leaders, the Texas Department of Insurance on Tuesday proposed additional rules for the so-called navigators directed to help Texans find health insurance under the federal Affordable Care Act. TDI Proposes New Rules for … Read More
Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Kyle Janek raised concerns on Tuesday about a temporary process set up by the Obama administration to help transfer applications for Medicaid from the federal health insurance marketplace over to the state. “As Jan. … Read More
WASHINGTON — For the past decade, Texas has been at war with Washington. Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott have fought the federal government on health care, voting rights and environmental regulations. On spending, new programs and regulations, … Read More
Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas will need to repay nearly three quarters of a million dollars wrongly billed to Medicare for unallowable dental services, the Office of the Inspector General states in an audit report for the facility. Due to … Read More
In fast-growing Texas, which is home to one in 11 of the nation’s children, child poverty has continued to rise despite an improving economy, according to a new report from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank. … Read More
Many Texans in individual health care plans that don’t comply with the Affordable Care Act have been spared cancellation notices. But for the Texans whose plans have been dropped, health care experts are encouraging them to proceed carefully. In Texas, … Read More
December 2, 2013 — Can orthodontists select an individual set of records needed for each patient rather than the full suite of dental models, facial and intraoral photographs, a set of 2D radiographs, and clinical measurements? A study in PLOS … Read More
AUSTIN — Insurance companies, brokers and consumer advocates say a highly publicized national wave of health plan cancellations largely bypassed Texas. There are several complex reasons, but one of the biggest is this: Following the example of Arkansas and other … Read More
As technical problems persist with the online federal health insurance marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act, Texas Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgeber decided Friday to postpone shuttering the state’s high-risk health insurance pool until March 31. TDI Postpones Closure of … Read More
Critics of the Affordable Care Act have lambasted President Obama’s signature legislation as it struggles with technical glitches and as thousands of people nationally report the cancellation of their existing health insurance plans. But a report released Thursday by Families … Read More
November 19, 2013 — A New York judge on November 18 ordered a new trial in the Small Smiles case after ruling that a lawyer for the insurance company stalked the jury during the trial. The judge found that the … Read More
BROWNSVILLE, Texas –– Texas spent $400 million on speech therapy for children under Medicaid last year, up 30 percent from three years ago. Speech therapists along a 76-mile stretch of Texas Highway 83, from Brownsville to Mission, collect more money … Read More
WASHINGTON — Bowing to pressure, President Barack Obama on Thursday announced changes to his health care law to give insurance companies the option to keep offering consumers plans that would otherwise be canceled. Obama to allow sale of plans canceled … Read More
Fewer than 3,000 Texans successfully found private health insurance during the first month of the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period to purchase a health plan through an online federal marketplace, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Department … Read More
Greg Abbott outlines many policy proposals including passing law to prevent state agencies from working with the Affordable Care Act. Abbott Unveils Proposals for Privacy, Ethics and DNA | The Texas Tribune.
BEAUMONT, Texas — A Southeast Texas dentist who pleaded guilty to health care fraud has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison and must pay $835,000. A federal judge in Beaumont on Thursday sentenced Dr. Terrence Ewing Syler to … Read More
In Dallas to raise cash for Senate candidates, President Barack Obama took a side trip Wednesday to pressure Gov. Rick Perry to expand Medicaid and thank volunteers working to help uninsured Texans. He called it a “no-brainer” that Texas could … Read More
President Barack Obama plans to call on Texas Gov. Rick Perry – one of the most prominent Obamacare foes in the country – to follow the lead of a handful of other Republican governors and agree to the expansion of … Read More
WASHINGTON — With 6.4 million uninsured residents, Texas is a major target for anyone eager to put a dent in the number of Americans without health coverage. It’s also a bastion of resistance to Obamacare. The governor won’t set up … Read More
DOUGLAS WILSON | Texas Health and Human Services Inspector General Adult diapers are delivered to a resident who doesn’t need and didn’t order them. A man says he needs your benefit card and PIN number for your free phone. A … Read More
by Becca Aaronson, The Texas Tribune November 5, 2013 The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General, which says that hundreds of millions of dollars have been misspent on fraudulent Medicaid orthodontic and dental claims, has lost … Read More
Attorney General Greg Abbott, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for Texas governor, holds a single-digit lead over the likely Democratic nominee, state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. UT/TT … Read More
In Touch: News from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
AUSTIN — Freed from a nearly yearlong moratorium, Texas’ revamped $3 billion cancer agency will take another look at research grants frozen by state lawmakers before finally releasing millions in taxpayer dollars, the agency’s top executive said Thursday. Revamped Texas … Read More
Texas – Peter Pedro Egede was arrested in Houston. He is awaiting sentencing. Peter Pedro Egede was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud. Egede admitted that he received approximately $1.7 million in … Read More
Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—October 31, 2013. A federal jury in Houston has convicted Gwendolyn Climmons-Johnson, 53, of multiple counts of health care fraud for submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for ambulance services. Owner of Texas-based Ambulance Service Convicted … Read More
Even proponents of the Affordable Care Act admit the rollout of its signature website, healthcare.gov, has been rocky. But the Texas Hospital Association said Monday that criticisms of the website are a distraction from more significant problems with health care … Read More
Animation: Explaining the Health Insurance Marketplace | The Texas Tribune.
They haven’t even won their respective primaries yet, but the leading candidates for Texas governor — Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott and Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis — are engaged in a bitter fight in federal court. Abbott and Davis Fight Before Fight … Read More
October 23, 2013 — A U.K. dentist who bilked the National Health Service (NHS) for more than 1.5 million pounds ($2.5 million) has been officially barred from practicing. Joyce Trail has been suspended from practicing by the General Dental Council … Read More
As consumers weigh coverage options available in the newly launched federal health insurance marketplace, three of the largest medical associations in Texas have raised concerns about the uncertainty of provider networks offered by health plans in the marketplace. Full story … Read More
Kennard Law, P.C. based in Houston, Texas and with offices in San Antonio, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley, has filed suit against ACS/Xerox for unpaid overtime wages. The firm, which specializes in employment law, filed the suit on … Read More
by Becca Aaronson, The Texas Tribune October 16, 2013 Texas has the greatest number of poor, uninsured adults who will fall in a “coverage gap” created by states that chose not to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, according … Read More
by Becca Aaronson October 15, 2013 Texans discovered nearly two years ago that the state was spending more on orthodontic claims in its Medicaid program than the other 49 states combined, but recovery of millions in purportedly misspent Medicaid money … Read More
Dr. Roque Joel Ramirez, 48, of Robstown, has been charged in a 14-count indictment for a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid through fraudulent billings, amounting in $1.4 million. For the fulll story, follow the link: Local doctor arrested in … Read More
By Donna Domino, Features Editor October 9, 2013 — A jury has found that Small Smiles dentists did not perform unnecessary dental procedures on a young boy at one of the chain’s clinics in New York. The judge found that … Read More
The following is from a story from the October 5th Austin American Statesman. Texas AG sued by own lawyer Plaintiff says his initial complaints about office garnered reprisals. By Jazmine Ulloa A lawyer for the Texas attorney general’s office has … Read More
Nearly two years after news broke that Texas spent more on orthodontic claims in its Medicaid program than the other 49 states combined, the Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General is barely knee deep in its effort … Read More
