It is with some irony that a company that has been found guilty of insurance fraud by a jury in Delaware (and apparently colluding with the Texas Office of the Attorney General to do so) is still a major player in … Read More
The Statesman published a landmark article this morning by reporter Eric Dexheimer regarding the great Texas orthodontic debacle. Story finally pieced together Thanks to the state’s fraud suit against Xerox, its former Medicaid claims administrator summarily terminated back in early … Read More
A dozen years ago, Texas health care administrators hired a company to help determine when taxpayers should cover the cost of dental care for the state’s poorer residents, particularly children. The company, later acquired by the giant corporation Xerox, deployed … Read More
AUSTIN — Texas state health officials once again are delaying a massive data project that has struggled to get off of the ground for more than a decade. The state Health and Human Services Commission informed lawmakers Tuesday it was pausing … 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
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
Travis County prosecutors are no longer leading a year-long criminal investigation into a controversial state technology deal that led to sweeping contracting reforms and have transferred the case to another law enforcement agency. Gregg Cox — chief of the Travis … 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
With the Government Accounting Office estimating that in 2014 some $124 billion was siphoned off the Medicaid and Medicare system nationally, we are again witnessing the truly schizophrenic nature of Medicaid enforcement actions in this country. In New York, this past week the … Read More
SAN ANTONIO — The Texas health commission soon will begin a new project to fight waste, fraud and abuse in the state Medicaid program, a year after another anti-fraud effort fell apart in scandal. The “integrity initiative,” to be launched later … Read More
After more than a decade at the job, State Auditor John Keel plans to retire as of Jan. 4, his office confirmed Monday. “When I accepted my current job on Dec. 1, 2004, I expected to be here approximately 6 … Read More
Jack Stick says he’s “the whipping boy,” the guy who became the face of the 21CT contract scandal as Texas officials pointed fingers and scrambled to save their own jobs. “I think in December of last year, people began to … Read More
Former Texas health official Jack Stick tried to persuade dozens of other states to buy Austin technology company 21CT’s Medicaid fraud detection system even as he privately complained that the results it produced for Texas were worth “a bucket of … Read More
A name familiar to many Medicaid dentists who have felt the sting of Doug Wilson and Jack Stick’s Office of Inspector General in the last few years has resigned, per the Texas Tribune. Cody Cazares, an aide to former Health … Read More
Here is the June/July edition of the Texas Medicaid News! Hello and welcome to the Texas Medicaid news update, I’m Andy Zajac. Things have been hot and heavy over the last few weeks in Austin. 1) Our top story is … Read More
The press has uncovered a lot of conduct unbecoming at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and its Office of Inspector General in the last eight months. First there was the Sunset Advisory Commission with its damning report on … Read More
The company at the center of a state contracting scandal, Austin data analytics firm 21CT, has dismissed its $90 million defamation lawsuit against James Frinzi, the firm’s former lobbyist turned newspaper whistle-blower. Source: 21CT drops lawsuit against fired lobbyist James … Read More
The contracting reforms that Gov. Greg Abbott issued in January appear to have had such limited impact that they probably would not have prevented the 21CT scandal that prompted them. Public-Information records from 13 state agencies suggest that such policies … Read More
AUSTIN – A sophisticated software program crunched through a sea of Texas hospital records in July 2013, instantaneously comparing payment records against Medicaid rules to identify $4.4 million in questionable spending and start a process that eventually returned the money … Read More
State Rep. John Kuempel, chairman of the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee, launched an official inquiry Monday into contracting practices at 11 state agencies.Kuempel requested information on contracts at the Health and Human Services Commission, where questions surrounding a $20 million, … Read More
If there is a silver lining to the no-bid contracting scandal at the state’s health commission, it is the response to prevent future similar debacles. In light of Gov. Greg Abbott’s independent “strike force” review of the Texas Health and … Read More
Criminal investigators looking into Texas’ no-bid contract with Austin tech firm 21CT are now delving into allegations that the former state official in charge of billions of dollars in technology contracts abused her position when she urged companies vying for … Read More
by Edgar Walters, The Texas Tribune It’s been a tough year so far for Kyle Janek, the head of the state’s embattled Health and Human Services Commission — and it’s only April. Two separate government-issued reports have criticized Janek’s leadership. … Read More
As criminal investigators and legislators continue to scrutinize millions of dollars in no-bid technology deals, the state’s top health agency is now dealing with collateral damage from the fiasco: the collapse of a database project that has been in the … Read More
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A state contracting scandal that has cost top Texas health officials their jobs and dealt new Republican Gov. Greg Abbott an early test was enabled by a lack of ethics and accountability, a state audit concluded … Read More
AUSTIN – The official responsible for ensuring that the Texas health commission follows outsourcing laws instead helped the agency to break its own rules on a $110 million no-bid contract, according to a long-awaited audit released Thursday. The official, Arnold … Read More
Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout. A scathing state investigative report of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s much-maligned $20 million contract for fraud tracking software has revealed “operational defects” within the agency’s procurement process. According to the report, … Read More
The former state official who brokered lucrative, no-bid deals with Austin tech company 21CT broke purchasing rules, ignored other possible vendors and worked to promote the company to agencies in Texas and other states, a state audit confirmed Thursday. The … Read More
John Keel, the Texas State Auditor, just issued his report on the Health and Human Services Commission, its Office of Inspector General and their controversial and scandal-laden, no-bid acquisition of Medicaid fraud detection software from Austin firm 21CT. Workplace not … Read More
A comprehensive state contracting reform bill unanimously passed the Texas Senate Tuesday and heads the House, where it is likely to sail through and ultimately give Gov. Greg Abbott the chance to approve fixes to a massive state purchasing system … Read More
AUSTIN — The Texas Health and Human Services Commission needs “significant changes” in its leadership or management structure, according to a committee appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott. The panel’s much-anticipated report, released Monday, is the latest blow for a troubled … Read More
A multimillion-dollar software contract for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission was blasted in a report from a “strike force” committee appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, reports the Texas Tribune. “The report’s findings are deeply troubling,” said Abbott in … Read More
As the Health and Human Services Commission continues to face fierce criticism for contracting problems, one pressing question remains unanswered: Will Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek keep his job? A few legislators have called for his ouster, but most state leaders … Read More
12:11 p.m. update: The multimillion-dollar, no-bid state deals with Austin tech firm 21CT “skirted the limits” of the law and was a “policy fiasco” that illustrates the need for changes in the leadership structure at the Health and Human Services … Read More
Gov. Abbott’s strike force has published its report into contracting problems at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that exploded into public view from the mess with former HHSC chief counsel and deputy inspector general OIG Jack Stick and Austin … Read More
Governor Greg Abbott issued the following statement regarding the report released today by the strike force he deployed to conduct a review of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission: “When I deployed the strike force, I had confidence they … Read More
Leadership problems at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in the wake of a contracting scandal that resulted in forced resignations leave the agency too vulnerable to consolidate at this time, according to a report released Monday by Gov. Greg … Read More
