Media

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

The health care track at the Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, new developments coming out of Texas, and abortion and women’s health.   TribuneFest: Audio From the Health Care Track | The Texas Tribune.

AUSTIN – Families with children who might qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) should apply for children’s coverage through the state to avoid a delay in getting help because of problems with the new federal exchange. … Read More

As the U.S. Census Bureau released new statistics showing Texas again ranks highest for the percentage of people without health insurance, Gov. Rick Perry quietly laid out the next moves in his ongoing effort to derail Obamacare. “We made the … Read More

Xerox is the parent company of the Texas Medicaid and Health Partnership/ACS which was responsible for approving all Medicaid expenditures including orthodontia up until last year. AUSTIN — Texas has signed a 5-year, approximately $100 million contract with Xerox to … Read More

A push for stricter training requirements for insurance “navigators,” who will help uninsured residents sign up for health coverage, is fueling the latest political clash over the Affordable Care Act in Texas.   In Texas, “Navigator” Training Becomes Political Football … Read More

September 23, 2013 — A Texas judge has ordered the state to return $1.3 million that was withheld from Harlingen Family Dentistry (HFD) based on unfounded allegations of fraud on orthodontic Medicaid billings. Travis County Judge Amy Clark Meachum has … Read More

SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS NEWS- HARLINGEN,Tx July 30,2013- Dr. Juan Villarreal, a dentist at Harlingen Family in Harlingen Texas gets ready to check a patient at his office Tuesday July 30,2013. Photo by Delcia Lopez via In Medicaid, docs guilty … Read More

A Travis County judge has awarded more than $22,000 in legal fees to an Amarillo law firm that helped expose more than $1 million in Medicaid fraud at a local orthodontics clinic. Amarillo attorney Phil Russ, who represented three former … Read More

Whether they have a good income or a lower one, Texans lag behind much of the nation in access to and quality of health care. May need subscription to reach story. Texans lag in health care access and quality, regardless … Read More

Texas continued to have the highest rate of people without health insurance in 2012 at 24.6 percent, according to the Current Population Survey estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday. Full story, click on the link.   Texas … Read More

Gov. Rick Perry is preparing for yet another battle in his war against Obamacare. In a letter to the state’s health agency on Monday, the governor laid out his plan to request a federal waiver to reform Medicaid as Texas … Read More

The Health and Human Services Commission has put online its self-report to the Sunset Commission as HHSC is coming up for review by the Commission this coming year. The link below will take you to the HHSC website where you … Read More

Here are the latest statistics just released by HHSC. Children Enrolled in Medicaid, CHIP and CHIP Perinatal Programs by Month Month Children Enrolled in Medicaid¹ Children Enrolled in CHIP² Children Enrolled in CHIP Perinatal Coverage Total Children Enrolled Sep-13 2,511,311 … Read More

Despite strong opposition to the federal Affordable Care Act by Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders, Texas has still received nearly $100 million in grants through the law. And as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz campaigns to defund Obamacare, the majority of the grants — … Read More

The following was in the latest HHSC newsletter “In Touch.” HHSC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) will hire 127 new employees over the next year, two-thirds of whom will be in enforcement as the division looks to speed up fraud … Read More

On August 27, I talked with U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Kyle Janek, executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services, about where the state goes next on health care. To see the video interview, follow … Read More

South Texas Dental, which operates family dental centers in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio, has acquired the 12 offices of the All Smiles general dentistry practice in North Texas. Financial terms of the transaction were not released. Three … Read More

Some members of Congress are alarmed by our latest investigative report on Dr. Tariq Mahmood’s hospitals. The story, published Sunday, showed that regulators gave the six Texas hospitals nearly $18 million in economic stimulus funds for switching to electronic medical records … Read More

State lawmakers approved a wide range of measures in the 83rd legislative session that will affect Texans’ medical care. Use this interactive to take a look at 31 ways those laws will change Texas health policy. Full story click below. … Read More

Gov. Rick Perry’s office is disputing reports that the state is negotiating with the federal government to draw down $100 million in additional financing under a rule created by the Affordable Care Act. Politico reported on Tuesday that Texas is taking advantage of … Read More

By calling for a program that encourages the reuse of equipment like wheelchairs and hospital beds that were bought with Medicaid dollars, legislators hope that they are creating a new way for the state to save money. Senate Bill 1175, … Read More

A former investigator for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission was sentenced to federal prison for theft violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales on Friday, Aug. 9. Melva Darlene Blakemore, 62, of … Read More

San Antonio defense attorney Michael McCrum has been appointed to investigate a complaint alleging that Gov. Rick Perryabused his power and violated state law when he threatened to cut funding for the state’s Public Integrity Unit unless the district attorney who … Read More

AUSTIN — A San Antonio senior judge confirmed Thursday that he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate possible charges of abuse of office and coercion against Gov. Rick Perry. Judge Robert “Bert” Richardson said he expected to select someone … Read More