Media

The office of Attorney General Ken Paxton is formally defending his decision to continue paying two high-level staffers after they resigned, saying Paxton “acted in a compassionate, legal, and ethical manner.” In an op-ed submitted Tuesday to a number of media … Read More

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Cleveland dentist allegedly billed Medicaid for fillings on patients with dentures and other work not performed; now he’s charged with health care fraud, Ohio’s U.S. Attorney announced Monday.Robert Rouzaud, 59, allegedly billed for an excessive number … Read More

BATON ROUGE – Attorney General Jeff Landry announced five people were arrested on defrauding the Medicaid program following investigations by his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).“Fraudulent claims to the Medicaid program will be investigated, and the scammers will be arrested,” said … Read More

AUSTIN — Life outside the governor’s mansion has proven profitable for Rick Perry.The former Texas governor made more than $365,000 in total compensation in 2015 for serving on the corporate boards of two firms that are part of Republican mega … Read More

AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton is still paying a former top staffer more than a month after she left the agency, and aides refuse to answer questions about a special payment arrangement for her and Paxton’s former deputy amid … Read More

The Health and Human Service Commission Inspector General’s office has replaced a controversial Medicaid fraud data analytics program with a statistical software package that cost the agency nothing. The 21CT contracting scandal cost the state $20 million and took out … Read More

AUSTIN — Chris Traylor will retire as head of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission at the end of next month, legislative officials with knowledge of his decision said late Thursday. Traylor, who canceled retirement plans last spring to … Read More

A Texas appeals court delivered a big loss on Thursday to a group of home health agencies and parents of children with disabilities who sued the state over payment cuts to in-home therapy providers. The Texas 3rd Court of Appeals ruled … Read More

Picture yourself as a physician, health care administrator, or nurse. The government initiates a False Claims Act (FCA) investigation and you (or your company), as a provider, commence an immediate internal investigation. The findings are brought to the government, you … Read More

Any effort to reform Medicaid financing should take into account evidence that the program already has low payment rates and low spending growth, meaning further reductions could hurt beneficiaries’ access to care, according to an issue brief from the Kaiser … Read More

State health officials confirmed Tuesday they have asked the Obama administration to keep a 15-month lifeline of federal Medicaid money flowing into Texas to help hospitals treat uninsured patients. That money would offer temporary relief to health care providers who face losing the funds — … Read More

ALBANY – Amongst the surplus vehicle, highway equipment, and miscellaneous property to be auctioned Wednesday morning by the New York State Office of General Services is a 2012 Porsche Cayenne SUV. The Porsche, with approximately 14,850 miles on its odometer, … Read More

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit today announced the arrest of a Broward County dentist for allegedly billing the Medicaid program more than $14,000 for services not rendered. Dr. Marino F. Vigna, 49, allegedly billed Medicaid for … Read More

AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton’s top lieutenant resigned for a second time on Friday. Paxton’s office announced First Assistant Attorney General Chip Roy’s resignation in March. His second resignation came the day after The Dallas Morning News reported that Roy and at least one other … Read More

Former First Assistant Attorney General Chip Roy on Friday defended receiving thousands of dollars in salary and benefits after leaving the attorney general’s office to join a pro-Ted Cruz super PAC. In a written statement to the Tribune, Roy responded to a report Thursday in … Read More

AUSTIN — The state is paying thousands of dollars in salaries and benefits to at least two former high-level staffers in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office who haven’t worked there for over a month. Charles “Chip” Roy resigned as first … Read More

Texas Health and Human Services Commission officials say they have no choice but to carry out the will of lawmakers and cut $350 million from the state’s Medicaid program.In September, state District Judge Tim Sulak temporarily blocked implementation of the … Read More

The Texas Rangers have launched a criminal investigation into Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller‘s use of taxpayer funds to bankroll two out-of-state trips, the Department of Public Safety confirmed Wednesday. The investigation follows complaints filed by the liberal advocacy group Progress … Read More

An Angelina County grand jury has indicted a Lufkin hearing center owner accused of charging Medicaid for services that were not performed by properly licensed personnel. Richard Charles Geraci, 50, of Lufkin, has been booked in and out of the … Read More

April 13, 2016 — I said it. And the marketplace backs me up. We are already seeing the effects of an increased number of dentists graduating, increased capacity per dentist, dentists practicing longer in general, and nondentists performing functions that … Read More

Federal charges of money laundering were filed against a former Tulsa dentist previously accused of infecting patients with HIV and hepatitis.The attorney representing one of Harrington’s former patients said the latest federal charge comes as no surprise.Scott Harrington is accused … Read More

Hefty cuts to a state Medicaid program that pays for poor and disabled Texans to receive in-home therapy won’t endanger patient lives or destroy livelihoods, a state district judge was told Tuesday. Coming from a major health insurer that covers … Read More

A recent court ruling in favor of a Texas orthodontics provider adds to the state’s longstanding inability to prove claims that dental providers overbilled Medicaid tens of millions of dollars, according to the Austin American-Statesman. In the latest case, an … Read More

In an important win for hospice and other health care providers facing claims under the False Claims Act (FCA), a federal court in Alabama gave a summary judgment victory last week to hospice provider Aseracare Inc. Key Takeaway A difference … Read More

When Brianna Dupuie was a year old, a babysitter shook her so hard she had a stroke that paralyzed her right side. Everything Brianna had learned to do — how to walk, crawl and speak — was erased.In the seven … Read More

Lucy Nashed, communications director for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, has resigned after the agriculture department gave contradictory reports to different media outlets on whether Miller had used state funds to compete in a rodeo. Nashed, who worked for former … Read More

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been charged in federal court with allegedly misleading investors in a technology company. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed the charges Monday in a Sherman-based court. They are similar to the allegations Paxton … Read More

Here’s an unusual story out of Texas which seems to defy all the conventional wisdom about employment trends and wages. The local press has noticed that nursing homes are having trouble filling the health care jobs at their facilities these … Read More

Texas must do more to protect dental patients from deadly sedation risks, according to a state report released Wednesday. Building on findings of a 2015 Dallas Morning Newsinvestigation, the report says state regulators largely failed to oversee sedation practices in … Read More

State Medicaid regulators pursuing orthodontists who they claim bilked Texas out of tens of millions of dollars suffered another decisive setback Thursday, when an appeals court ruled investigators hadn’t proven any fraud had occurred in one of the state’s largest … Read More

A Zachary home health care business owner accused of violating Louisiana’s sparingly used racketeering statute in an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme pleaded guilty this week to a racketeering charge and faces up to 50 years in prison when she is … Read More

What was a woman accused of 11 counts of dependent adult abuse and ongoing criminal conduct doing working for AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa, one of the three private, out-of-state Medicaid management companies hired by the state to serve low-income and disabled Iowans?That … Read More

Two people are facing federal charges in connection with defrauding and scheming to defraud through false billing via their local medical equipment companies. But the two cases, however similar, are not linked to each other, according to a news release … Read More

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) – The last two of 15 mental health nonprofit providers under investigation for possible Medicaid fraud have been cleared by New Mexico’s top prosecutor. Attorney General Hector Balderas is sending a letter to state lawmakers Tuesday, informing them … Read More

WHY WE DID THIS STUDY The Office of Inspector General (OIG) oversees the activities of all Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs or Units). As part of this oversight, OIG conducts periodic reviews of all Units and prepares public reports based … Read More

TALLAHASSEE — If there’s one subject that rivals the prominence of job creation in Gov. Rick Scott’s rhetoric, it’s Rick Perry.Scott has made a habit of mentioning the former Texas governor, a fellow Republican, in nearly all of his speeches … Read More

TALLAHASSEE — A controversial measure that removes dental care from the required list of benefits Medicaid HMOs must offer patients beginning 2019 and requires the state to enter a five- year, non-renewable contract with a separate vendor will be heard … Read More

Governor Greg Abbott has named Steve Austin chair of the State Board of Dental Examiners. The governor has also appointed Diane Garza for a term set to expire February 1, 2017, appointed Bryan Henderson, II, Jorge Quirch and Rich Villa … Read More

March 28, 2016 — Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a bill that will study possible changes to the way Medicaid recipients receive dental care in that state. Currently, the state’s Medicaid managed-care system requires HMOs to cover dental services. … Read More

SANTA FE – A health care company that tried to root out fraud in New Mexico’s Medicaid program has now been accused of committing Medicaid fraud itself. Three lawsuits filed against OptumHealth Inc. this year accuse the company of malfeasance stemming … Read More