If you were in Amarillo the afternoon of Dec. 10, Trinity Fellowship Ministries was the place to be. As temperatures warmed outside, more than 80 people made their way into the Student Ministries Center Auditorium, each contemplating their chance to … Read More
A reasonable person would not question the righteousness of the mission, which is rooting out fraud and fighting crime. Yet it’s not unreasonable to ask whether so many Texas Attorney General’s Office investigators need assault-style rifles, handguns and tactical gear … Read More
Outside of the Department of Public Safety, there are 819 commissioned police working in 16 bureaucracies across the state, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement data obtained through the state’s open-records law. The attorney general accounts for more than … Read More
AUSTIN — During his 14 years as Texas’ top lawyer, Greg Abbott oversaw a significant — and expensive — escalation of police and firepower in the attorney general’s office, which now boasts 160 cops and an arsenal of assault rifles, … Read More
WASHINGTON—The co-owners of a home health company in Dallas and two nurse employees were charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday for their alleged participation in a $13.4 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services. Assistant … Read More
PLANO, TX—A Denton County, Texas, nurse has been convicted of 9 counts of health care fraud in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today. Florence Kroma a/k/a Florence Kamara a/k/a Florence Koroma a/k/a Florence Bangura, … Read More
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) knew as far back as 2008 that certain Medicare Advantage plans were pocketing billions in overpayments, but officials still held back on auditing the plans and recouping payments tied to inflated risk … Read More
SOUTHINGTON – State officials have reached a settlement with a local dentist accused of defrauding Medicaid. The Attorney General’s office announced Monday that Dr. Thomas DeRienzo, owner of Plantsville Family Dental, will pay $55,000 to resolve the False Claims Act … Read More
In the latest government blow against rampant Medicare fraud, two doctors and a registered nurse in New Orleans were given stiff prison sentences and millions of dollars in fines this week in federal court for their roles in a long-term $50 … Read More
Texas has violated the constitutional rights of foster children by exposing them to an unreasonable risk of harm in a system where children “often age out of care more damaged than when they entered,” a federal judge ruled Thursday. “Years … Read More
HHS says few states have taken it up on an offer to receive federal funding for data-mining, which would allow their Medicaid fraud units to search claims. States say they don’t need it, even though the improper payment rate has … Read More
Chris Traylor, executive commissioner of the state Health and Human Services Commission, said Tuesday that the state is not cutting off resettlement monies for non-profit agencies involved in the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Texas over the objection of Gov. … Read More
AUSTIN — A court hearing set for Monday about the effort by Texas to halt Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood has been canceled because state officials have not yet actually kicked the organization out of the program.Health inspector general Stuart … Read More
December 14, 2015 — When it comes to oral health in the U.S., it’s easy to focus on the work that still needs to be done. However, a hefty new ADA Health Policy Institute (HPI) report details a promising trend … Read More
December 10, 2015 — Eighty-five Texas dental patients have died since 2010, according to an investigative report by the Dallas Morning News published December 10.The report also estimates that about 1,000 people have died nationwide following dental procedures.”Deadly Dentistry” is … Read More
Almost two months after Gov. Greg Abbott praised state health officials for moving decisively to drop Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid health-care provider, the organization is still seeing patients and being reimbursed under the program.State health officials have not yet … Read More
AUSTIN — House budget writers held a four-hour hearing Thursday on a long-running procurement mess at the state attorney general’s office. Guess who completely escaped mention? Gov. Greg Abbott, that’s who. That was curious because Abbott was attorney general for … Read More
A 4-year-old Dallas boy goes to get cavities fixed — and is drugged to death. First they drugged him. Then they sent Mom to the waiting room. Then they strapped his torso and wrists to a padded board. But Junior … Read More
ROCHESTER – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrest and guilty plea of Erica Viverette, a Rochester licensed practical nurse employed to provide private nursing services to a special needs young adult, for stealing nearly $5,000 from the … Read More
The U.S. government has recovered $1.9 billion from companies and individuals in the healthcare industry through False Claims Act cases in the fiscal year ending Sep. 30, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.The healthcare industry accounted for the bulk of … Read More
I wanted to bring to your attention my recent experience at one of your offices. As a fellow business owner, I would want to know when one of my customers had a bad experience since transparency and feedback are great … Read More
AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton has removed 11 technology contractors who were working on a problem-plagued upgrade to the state’s child-support data system.The shakeup comes as House members are set next week to begin an investigation into how the … Read More
HOUSTON – Regent Management Services L.P. has agreed to pay approximately $3.199 million to settle allegations that it received kickbacks from various ambulance companies in exchange for rights to its more lucrative Medicare and Medicaid transport referrals. Several government officials, … Read More
November 30, 2015 — If you pay your hygienist a guaranteed salary, it could be hurting your practice. Surprised? Think about it. While you know exactly how much you need to pay your hygienist each month and your hygienist knows … Read More
ALBANY – The State of New York is getting into the luxury car business courtesy of a pair of Medicaid scammers who were busted in Brooklyn. Officials are preparing to auction off two high-priced cars – including a 2013 Mercedes-Benz … Read More
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 20, 2015. A Texas man was sentenced today to 63 months for his role in a $3.4 million scheme to defraud Medicare, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth … Read More
A McAllen doctor was convicted Friday after he pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud and an illegal kickback scheme with his assistant. Eduardo Carrillo, 42, admitted he attempted to bill Medicare for providing services to deceased patients, according to a news … Read More
Planned Parenthood’s Texas affiliates on Monday filed a federal lawsuit to keep state health officials from booting them from the state’s Medicaid program. Following Texas’ announcement in October that it would stop funding any care for poor women at Planned Parenthood clinics — a response … Read More
Health and Human Services (HHS) transformation presents an opportunity to restructure the Texas HHS system to make it more functional, efficient, effective and responsive. As this two-year transformation process unfolds, HHS agencies will be asking for input from stakeholders: the … Read More
A state worker who came under scrutiny during a high-profile contracting scandal last year has been paid more than $100,000 over the past 11 months without having to work a single day. Frianita Wilson — who earns $115,000 a year … Read More
November 17, 2015 — The Supreme Court of Texas has dismissed a petition that would have prevented practitioners from receiving Medicare funds when that provider is being investigated for fraud. In the November 13 dismissal, the state Supreme Court upheld … Read More
Amanda Barry, holding her son Dominic who she claims was among the dozens of children brutally treated by dentist Howard Schneider, smiled on Monday hoping the arrest of the former Jacksonville dentist meant he could not harm any more children. … Read More
November 12, 2015 — A U.S. federal court has ruled in favor of ClearCorrect in a case involving digital data, noting that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) does not have authority over the data. The case has implications that … Read More
A federal jury on Thursday convicted a Bowie, Md., couple of orchestrating a multi-year campaign to defraud D.C. Medicaid of more than $80 million between 2009 and 2014, the largest local health-care fraud scheme ever prosecuted in the city. After a … Read More
State officials canceled their multimillion-dollar Medicaid contract with financially troubled TAPS Public Transit on Thursday and launched an investigation into the possibility of fraud. Sherman-based Texoma Area Paratransit System won the three-year contract in July 2014 to provide non-emergency medical … Read More
A Pharr woman has been sentenced for her role in a scheme to defraud the Medicare program, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Martha Lidia Flores, 51, pled guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud … Read More
Medicaid providers can now find their patients’ medical histories on YourTexasBenefitsCard.com. Medicaid Eligibility and Health Information Services added the Blue Button to the site in September. Once a provider or office staff receives a client’s consent, they can log in to … Read More
Republicans are openly feuding over whether to seek drastic changes to Medicare, Social Security and other entitlement programs, risking a potentially damaging intraparty battle ahead of the 2016 elections. The rift was exemplified this week by the GOP stars of … Read More
AUSTIN – Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Chris Traylor announced today Dr. John Hellerstedt is returning to the HHS system Jan. 1, this time as commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.Hellerstedt, who last served the … Read More
In his first State of the State address to the Texas Legislature in early 2015, newly elected Gov. Greg Abbott challenged lawmakers to dedicate their unfolding 140-day session to ethics reform, asserting that “the most important commodity that we have … Read More
