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 leave for 15 months in the wake of the 21 CT scandal that helped bring down her husband. She received full salary during that time, some $150,000.
No explanation was given why it took 15 months to put her back to work.
Records show payments to Wilson and Stick after they resigned
For the record, Doug Wilson, after he resigned in December of 2014 at the request of Gov. Perry, received $49,207.03 in lump sum vacation pay according to information from an open record request released to TDMR from HHSC. Jack Stick received $33,155.31 in vacation pay after he resigned.
TDMR had filed the open record requests to ensure that taxpayers were not paying for golden parachutes for these tainted HHSC executives.
Other HHSC executives who were placed on administrative leave in the 21 CT affair resigned – Erica Stick and Cody Cazares. After they left, Stick received nothing while Cazares received $8,231.66 in lump sum vacation pay.
Taxpayers getting ripped off with no accountability
The insanely generous treatment of Frianita Wilson at the expense of taxpayers is just another mind-blowing example of uncontrolled government waste. Ironic as it is something her husband had been appointed to prevent.
If this arrangement doesn’t jade Medicaid providers and taxpayers, consider the other recent press revelations that:
- the Attorney General Ken Paxton had arranged to give two ex-staff three months salary, almost $90,000 after they resigned, and
- that Inspector General Stuart Bowen has replaced the $20 million 21 CT Medicaid fraud detection software promoted by Jack Stick with 40-year-old software freely available on the Internet. HHSC was ready to pay another $90 million to continue using the software before the roof fell in.
In Arkansas, two women arrested for Medicaid fraud worth $2,500, in Texas, HHSC officials walk from $20 million
These figures are mind boggling, yet bureaucrats just walk away from the bungling. Again ironic that Medicaid providers from around the country are being arrested and charged for as little as $300 in billing discrepancies while in Texas HHSC officials walk away from $20 million boondoggles such as 21CT. Arkansas recently arrested two women for Medicaid fraud worth $1,407 and $972.
This is obviously a Texas miracle.