The TMHP document reported about in our last story that was recently appended to a court filing by Xerox shows that staff from the Health and Human Services Commission and its Office of Inspector General were well aware of the … Read More
A new document has come to light out of the lawsuit the state filed in 2014 against Xerox, its former Medicaid claims administrator, that shows Medicaid dentists were concerned as early as 2007 about Xerox’s prior authorization process and demanded … Read More
HOUSTON – A 20-count federal indictment has been unsealed following the arrest of the owner of KMD Healthcare Services Inc., and his brother on charges they engaged in a conspiracy involving fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid billing for ambulance services, announced … Read More
A 36-year-old woman from Lubbock, Texas, Paula McNeal, who pleaded guilty in January 2016 to one count of health care fraud, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 18 months in federal prison and ordered … Read More
This coming Thursday, May 19 from 8:30 am to noon, a town hall meeting on Medicaid managed care is being held at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, 118 Paseo Del Prado, Edinburg,TX. The meeting has been set up to allow Medicaid providers … Read More
Chief Deputy Executive Commissioner Charles Smith announced Heather Griffith Peterson and Kara Crawford are joining the Health and Human Services’ executive leadership team. “We are putting together a strong leadership team that will continue to move the Texas Health and … Read More
The Houston Chronicle reported this morning that Frianita Wilson, the wife of former Health and Human Services Commission Inspector General Doug Wilson and an HHSC executive in her own right, is now back at work at HHSC after being on administrative … Read More
AUSTIN — A Texas state official put on paid leave amid last year’s contracting scandal has been reinstated after 15 months in which she received nearly $150,000 in salary without having to work. The official, Frianita Wilson, a longtime procurement … Read More
Charles Smith, a longtime ally of Gov. Greg Abbott, will be the next executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the governor announced Tuesday. Smith, the chief deputy executive commissioner at the massive agency, will start his … Read More
Earlier this week, TDMR received an email from a mother who had her sons under Medicaid orthodontic treatment back in 2011 and 2012 and is still very upset at the both the state handling of the matter and the lack … 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
This morning Health and Human Services Commission Inspector General Stuart Bowen Jr. issued his latest quarterly report on OIG activities and results. Bowen has ushered in a new era of transparency and accountability for the agency and these reports provide … 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
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
The investigative digging of the Texas media into the operations of state government has once again revealed to the public, otherwise blissfully ignorant, the tremendous apparent hypocrisy of several state officials who view their positions as the divine right of … 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
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
Today the Sixth Court of Appeals issued their decision in the Medicaid payment hold case of Antoine Dental Center of Houston. The court again exonerated the practice from allegations of Medicaid fraud, again terminated the payment hold and, for the … 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
USA Today reported last week that 27 corporations listed in the Standard & Poor’s 500 paid no income tax for 2015 despite having pre-tax profits. The corporate giants include General Motors, Hewlett Packard, United Continental, News Corp, Weyerhauser amongst others. … Read More
Xerox is on a list of 27 large and profitable companies that paid no income tax last year. A report in the USA Today lists Xerox as one of several profitable companies that reported negative income tax expenses in 2015. … Read More
On Jan. 6, Nevaeh Hall was running, playing and laughing at a Chuck E. Cheese indoor playground and game room.The next day, after a morning dental appointment, the 4 year old was in an ambulance en route to Texas Children’s … Read More
HHSC’s newsletter is available here – http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/stakeholder/
The Texas Supreme Court this week issued a ruling allowing a whistleblower suit filed by Michael McMillen, a former Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General attorney, to continue. McMillen contends he was fired in early 2012 for reporting … Read More
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
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
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
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
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
UPDATE: The Travis County Public Integrity Unit has forwarded the criminal investigation into the 21 CT matter to another undisclosed investigative unit. Per the Unit’s head, the investigation is starting to move faster and was moved for reason of expertise … 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
There have been many changes for Medicaid dental providers over the last few years. The change from fee-for-service to managed care. The upheaval caused by the former Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General and rampant allegations … 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 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
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
The Texas Tribune this morning reported that former Texas governor Rick Perry is now the chief strategy officer over at MCNA, one of the two managed care organizations Texas now employs to handle Medicaid dental. It is Perry’s first employment position after … 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
This afternoon, the Health and Human Services Commission Inspector General Stuart Bowen sent out his second quarterly report – quite unlike his predecessor who sent out no such reports. It is a remarkable 28-pages and will take some time to … Read More
