March-April HHSC In Touch Newsletter Available
HHSC’s newsletter is available here – http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/stakeholder/
HHSC’s newsletter is available here – http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/stakeholder/
The Texas Supreme Court has given another shot to a former government lawyer who alleged he got fired after blowing the whistle that the state was illegally seeking reimbursement from some Medicaid recipients. F. Michael McMillen saw his employment lawsuit … Read More
DALLAS — Two North Texas men face health care-related fraud charges that prosecutors say cost a U.S. Defense Department agency $65 million. Richard Robert Cesario of Plano and John Paul Cooper of Southlake remained in custody pending a detention hearing … Read More
Updated: 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 | Posted: 9:08 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016The state’s top criminal court on Wednesday threw out the remaining criminal charge against Rick Perry, sparing the former governor from trial and a potential prison sentence on … Read More
ATLANTA (WXIA) – Georgia State Senator Renee Unterman (R – 45th District, Sugar Hill/Buford) is chair of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. She is also an executive with a health insurer that has a billion dollar a year … Read More
The emails between two people at the center of a no-bid state contract scandal are a window on how cozy associations can meld into influence — misused to the public’s detriment. An Express-News article by Brian M. Rosenthal of the … Read More
In the five years he served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Bill Killian oversaw dozens of healthcare fraud cases. By the time he resigned from his post Dec. 5, Killian’s district had collected more than $200 million … Read More
Ever since Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was indicted last summer on three felony charges related to alleged financial fraud in his personal business dealings, he has said little about the matter save for an initial court appearance where he … Read More
They say you shouldn’t mess with Texas. Those submitting fraudulent claims to the state’s Medicaid program should heed that advice. According to new Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) statistics and an interactive map released by the Office of Inspector General, the … Read More
Federal prosecutors have accused Cherie R. Dillon of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft tied to her Payette business, Dental Healthcare with Heart. They say Dillon, 60, performed dental procedures that could only be carried out by a dentist. … Read More
The Texas health commission finally has chosen a company to run a long-delayed massive data project, awarding it to the same firm whose tentative contract was canceled in 2014. The commission disclosed this week that it had decided to award … Read More
ALBUQUERQUE – Democrats with the state’s congressional delegation are calling for a federal investigation into the withholding of Medicaid payments from 15 nonprofits that provided behavioral health services to needy New Mexicans. In a letter sent Friday to U.S. Health and … Read More
Follow the link below to a map of the country. Click on a state and the MFCU data for that state will open. Source: 2015 Interactive Map of Expenditures | MFCU | Office of Inspector General | U.S. Department of … Read More
WHY WE DID THIS STUDY OIG oversees all State Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs or Units). As part of this oversight, OIG conducts periodic reviews of all Units and prepares public reports based on these reviews. The reviews assess Unit … Read More
A high-ranking official at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is stepping down after he co-authored a controversial study that found fewer women accessed a Texas family planning program after Planned Parenthood was kicked out in 2013. Rick Allgeyer, the commission’s … Read More
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A 31-year-old Louisville woman is going to prison for Medicaid fraud. Attorney General Jim Hood, in a news release Tuesday, said Labeatris Estes pleaded guilty to two counts of Medicaid fraud before Rankin County Circuit Court … Read More
Under the Affordable Care Act, health-care providers must report and return Medicare or Medicaid overpayments within 60 days after an overpayment is identified, or the date a corresponding cost report is due, whichever is later. But it can be challenging … Read More
James R. Dye, 66, of Independence, Missouri waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to a federal information that charges him with health care fraud. In his plea, Dye admitted … Read More
The state said Schneider billed Medicaid more hundreds of thousands of dollars for procedures he didn’t actually perform. The Office of the Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit interviewed them as a part of their investigation into the pediatric dentist … Read More
A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to Medicaid fraud after being charged with orchestrating a kickback scheme from his jail cell.David Epps, 44, who had been in the Monroe County Jail on an unrelated charge, was sentenced to six months, according to the … Read More
One of the least well-understood scandals of the Obama era is the effort to cripple the auditing system for Medicare payments, allowing sectors of the healthcare industry that helped get Obamacare passed into law to reap billions of dollars in … Read More
Travis County prosecutors are no longer leading a year-long criminal investigation into a controversial state technology deal that led to sweeping contracting reforms and have transferred the case to another law enforcement agency. Gregg Cox — chief of the Travis … Read More
AUSTIN — The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has transferred its investigation of a controversial no-bid contract to another law enforcement agency better able to handle the complicated case. Travis County Public Integrity Unit chief Gregg Cox disclosed the move … Read More
They met on an airplane in the spring of 2011 – the CEO of an Austin technology company and a Texas state official who found themselves seated next to each other and began talking about movies, and then work. Irene … Read More
A Texas Ethics Commission opinion that would have allowed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to fund his ongoing legal battle through out-of-state donors failed to pass by one vote Monday.The commission was asked anonymously if an individual working in the attorney … Read More
Almost six months ago, undercover videos surfaced purporting to show officials with Planned Parenthood in Texas discussing illegal acts. Texas Republicans pounced, opening up multiple battlefronts against the embattled women’s health organization. With allegations flying that Planned Parenthood was illegally … Read More
A Boston dentist with offices in Malden, Everett and South Boston, has agreed to pay $650,000 to the state’s Medicaid program (MassHealth) to resolve allegations of improperly billing for dental work, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Thursday, Jan. 29. The … Read More
January 26, 2016 — The American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) won another legal battle on January 21, when a U.S. District judge ruled that certain regulations of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners restrict the academy’s First Amendment … Read More
A Harris County grand jury on Monday indicted the videographers behind undercover recordings of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston and cleared the women’s health provider of any wrongdoing. The indictments — part of the county prosecutor’s investigation into allegations that … Read More
WHY WE DID THIS STUDY Medicaid is the primary source of dental coverage for children in low-income families and provides access to dental care for approximately 37 million children. However, access to dental care for children with Medicaid has been … Read More
WICHITA FALLS, TX – (KAUZ) -When it comes to dentists in Texas there is more than 254 areas in the state where dental care is scarce, and according to The Texas Department of State Health Services smaller markets are being … Read More
NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a $47 million settlement with CenterLight Healthcare and CenterLight Health System, resolving allegations that CenterLight Healthcare’s Select Medicaid Managed Long Term Care Plan (“MLTCP”) fraudulently billed Medicaid for services they … Read More
A Dallas-area woman must serve nearly five years in federal prison in a Medicaid scam over false claims using the names of legitimate counselors. Brenda Ward of Cedar Hill was sentenced Friday in Dallas. The 48-year-old Ward in July pleaded … Read More
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dr. Howard S. Schneider, the pediatric dentist who faced allegations of mistreatment of pediatric patients, will have a new judge in his Medicaid fraud case. Judge Angela Cox has taken over the case after Judge Mark Hulsey … Read More
A state employee has been put on probation after a three-month internal investigation found that she had tried to secure a job for her daughter with a potential vendor. Jean Garcia, a technology service manager for the state’s Health and … Read More
After three decades in public life, including 14 years as governor, Rick Perry, private citizen, has registered as a lobbyist in Florida representing a dental benefits management firm whose top brass were the biggest contributors to his second failed presidential … Read More
A year out of office, former Gov. Rick Perryhas a new job: chief strategy officer at MCNA Dental, the largest privatively held dental insurance company in the country, according to a spokesman for Perry. The Florida-based insurer does business in … Read More
ROCHESTER—Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the sentencing of Schmeka Morgan, a licensed practical nurse who stole $8,838 from the Medicaid program. Morgan, who provided private nursing services to a special needs young adult, was charged with billing for numerous hours … Read More
Research and Statistics If you use assistive technology, such as a screen reader, but are unable to read the information in these reports, please e-mail the webmaster to request an alternate format. CHIP and Medicaid Children’s Health Coverage (XLS) Texas … Read More
6) Bad Deals – Another session, another agency in scandal, another chief forced out. This time it was Health and Human Services Commissioner (and former state senator) Kyle Janek, plus his chief counsel (and former Travis County state rep) Jack … Read More