AUSTIN – The company that won a massive no-bid state contract now embroiled in scandal has decided to launch an aggressive campaign to defend its reputation and other business deals. Austin technology firm 21CT has hired an all-star cast of … Read More
Most recently, lawmakers have been looking at the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, asking it to scale back proposed rules that would affect the use of dental support organizations. Some dentists use the groups for tasks including marketing, accounting … Read More
AUSTIN — Texas is looking to reform the state office that goes after fraud in health care and human services: the Office of Inspector General. The Sunset Advisory Commission, which targets government waste within state agencies, recommended changes to the … Read More
Houston Chronicle business columnist Chris Tomlinson blasted the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General for its treatment of Medicaid providers in his column Wednesday. His criticism however goes further than OIG and alleges that OIG’s overzealousness … Read More
AUSTIN – Texas officials voiced support Wednesday for a proposal to combine five big state health and human services agencies into a mega-agency so massive that it would have a bigger budget than many states. The agencies made their support … Read More
AUSTIN, November 11 – State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa does not like the way the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of the Inspector General treats Medicaid providers and he wants to rein in the agency next session. “It … Read More
A key legislator with oversight of the state’s Health and Human Services Commission has asked that agency’s Office of Inspector General to review all Medicaid fraud cases handled by an actuary who admitted recently to falsifying numbers on at least … Read More
The Austin American Statesman reported this morning that Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, D-Laredo, has requested that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General review all Medicaid cases that were worked on by the now-terminated actuary that admitted to … Read More
TDMR received a notice from the Texas Sunset Commission on Tuesday requesting feedback on the staff report just issued on HHSC which was particularly scathing of the Office of Inspector General. Make your voice heard Any Texan can comment on … Read More
The Houston Chronicle has reported that as a result of the Sunset Commission’s scathing report on the Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General, HHSC Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek is appointing a special assistant to review OIG procedures … Read More
While critics were hounding Gov. Rick Perry a decade ago about his job-luring Texas Enterprise Fund, his lawyers went to Attorney General Greg Abbott to block the release of applications that supposedly had been filled out by the entities requesting … Read More
The facts of the auditor’s report released Thursday on the administration of Gov. Rick Perry’s Texas Enterprise Fund are, as the Tribune’s Aman Batheja termed it, “damning.” How bad? Eleven companies receiving a total of $223.3 million “either did not … Read More
On September 3rd, Rachel Hammond of the Texas Association for Homecare and Hospice testified before the House Human Services Committee on SB 1803 and due process rights for Medicaid providers. Hammond gave examples of difficulties that their members were having … Read More
Dr. Behzad Nazari of Houston testified before the House Human Services Committee on September 3rd on SB 1803 and due process rights for Medicaid providers. Nazari’s Antoine Dental clinics was put under a 100% payment hold for their Medicaid orthodontic … Read More
Dr. Paul Dunn testified before the House Human Services Committee last week about his experiences with the Health and Human Services Commission Office of the Inspector General and SB 1803. Dunn testified last year before the same committee and more … Read More
This past Wednesday, the Texas House Human Services Committee held public testimony on the effectiveness of SB 1803 passed last session to put into legislation due process rights for Medicaid providers under investigation by the Health and Human Services Commission … Read More
On August 14th, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services heard testimony regarding Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse. The full presentation given by Chris Traylor, Chief Deputy Commissioner, Douglas Wilson, Inspector General, Kay Ghahremani, Texas Medicaid/CHIP Director, and Joseph … Read More
The allegations state health regulators leveled against Rachel Trueblood two years ago were dramatic: The Austin dentist had billed the government for millions of dollars in unnecessary procedures and office time, they said. Regulators froze $100,000 of outstanding Medicaid payments … Read More
To understand waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars in the Medicaid system, let’s begin with a couple of basics on what the role of Medicaid is in health care and how it works. Medicaid Basics Medicaid is a program … Read More
The Texas House of Representatives Committee on Human Services has announced that it will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday, September 3rd, which will include hearing testimony regarding the effectiveness of SB 1803 and changes that should be made to the … Read More
Texas Health and Human Services Commission Inspector General Doug Wilson told Sen. Judith Zaffirini and other members of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services at their August 14th hearing on Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse that his agency … Read More
Sen. Jane Nelson quizzed Health and Human Services Commission Inspector General Doug Wilson about the lack of Medicaid fraud convictions in Texas despite the tremendous resources the Legislature gave to the OIG last session. The questioning occurred during the August 14th … Read More
The following is the testimony presented last week to the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services by Jason Ray of Riggs Aleshire & Ray in Austin. Ray is an attorney for a number of Medicaid dentists who have … Read More
As part of its charge in its hearing last Thursday, the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services looked into the state of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners. The Executive Director Julie Hildebrand, the Director of Enforcement Lisa … Read More
Three dentists testified before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday about their experiences with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of the Inspector General and how their due process rights are still being violated despite … Read More
The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services has sent out public notice that it will be holding a public hearing at the Capitol in Austin on Thursday, August 14th. One of the charges the Committee will look into at … Read More
Letters to both Rep. Richard Peña Raymond and Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, chairmen of the House Human Services and Public Health Committees respectively, have been sent from TDMR President Greg Ewing requesting a public hearing on SB1803 and HHSC’s compliance to … Read More
After appointing Republican state Sen. Jane Nelson to chair the Senate Finance Committee, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has picked state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, to replace her as the head the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Dewhurst revealed that … Read More
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has appointed state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, to chair the powerful Senate Finance Committee, setting the stage for Nelson to be one of the lead budget writers in 2015. Nelson replaces Tommy Williams, who resigned … Read More
The elevation of Texas Sen. Jane Nelson to be the Senate’s chief budget writer is imminent, according to a well-placed Capitol source. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is telling people he’s decided to name Nelson, R-Flower Mound, to be chairwoman of … Read More
Last year, state regulators accused Dallas-area dentist Everett Evans of bilking Medicaid out of millions of dollars by performing unnecessary procedures and billing for work he didn’t do. They froze more than $800,000 in pending payments to him from the … Read More
Date: May 9, 2014 Contact: Stephanie Goodman, 512-424-6951 The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) today notified Xerox Corp. that the state is terminating the company’s Medicaid claims administration contract for cause after Xerox staff approved thousands of requests for braces … Read More
by Terri Langford, The Texas Tribune April 3, 2014 A special prosecutor investigating whether Gov. Rick Perry abused his authority when he eliminated state funding of the Texas public integrity unit — which investigates government corruption and is housed in … Read More
The Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano, accused of protecting a neurosurgeon who allegedly killed and maimed patients, gained an ally this week in Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Abbott filed motions to intervene in three separate federal court suits … Read More
Carousel Pediatrics, a chain of Austin clinics originally accused of defrauding the government of $18 million in Medicaid payments, has agreed to repay $3.75 million for what regulators called a “pattern of billing errors” over four years. The settlement allowed … Read More
This past week a number of Medicaid dentists filed suit against ACS, Affiliated Computer Systems, the state’s Medicaid claims administrator better known as TMHP or the Texas Medicaid and Health Partnership. The dentists allege that ACS was negligent in their … Read More
At the beginning of December, 2013, the Health and Human Services Commission published online its budgetary figures for 2014. Included in the document are the 2012 and 2013 expenditures and metrics for the Office of the Inspector General and its … Read More
Back on October 15th, 2012, now more than a year ago, Texas Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation John Scott testified before the House Committee on Public Health in the Capitol. TDMR has just reviewed the archived video from the … Read More
Before the Thanksgiving long weekend, TDMR received a copy of the August 2012 audit conducted by the HHSC Office of the Inspector General on the Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership. As far as we know this is the first time … Read More
After a 40-year career, Dr. Paul Dunn is now on the verge of bankruptcy because he helped Medicaid children. In 2012, HHSC-OIG placed Dunn’s practice in Levelland under a 100% “credible allegation of fraud” payment hold for his orthodontic Medicaid … Read More
