The following was in the latest HHSC newsletter “In Touch.” HHSC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) will hire 127 new employees over the next year, two-thirds of whom will be in enforcement as the division looks to speed up fraud … Read More
South Texas Dental, which operates family dental centers in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio, has acquired the 12 offices of the All Smiles general dentistry practice in North Texas. Financial terms of the transaction were not released. Three … Read More
A former investigator for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission was sentenced to federal prison for theft violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales on Friday, Aug. 9. Melva Darlene Blakemore, 62, of … Read More
DLA Piper has announced that Karen Nelson has joined the firm’s national healthcare enforcement and compliance practice as of-counsel in the Austin office. 15 August 2013 Previously, Nelson served as deputy inspector-general and chief counsel for the Texas Health and … Read More
Karen Nelson is no longer with the Office of Inspector General. The former Deputy Inspector General for the HHSC-OIG is now working for the Austin office of the DLA Piper law firm. Nelson apparently left OIG last month. One can … Read More
Hearing Transcripts Now Available for Download Antoine Dental Clinic vs. HHSC-OIG – Vol. 1 Antoine Dental Clinic vs. HHSC-OIG – Vol. 2 Antoine Dental Center v. THHSC, OIG – Vol. 3 Antoine Dental Center v. THHSC, OIG – Vol. 4 … Read More
The following is information on upcoming court hearings that are vitally important to this whole dental Medicaid provider issue. On August 13 at 9:00 a.m., an HHSC Appeals Judge will hear M&M Orthodontics of San Antonio’s Plea to the Jurisdiction. … Read More
Last week, Antoine Dental Centers of Houston and Harlingen Family Dentistry of Harlingen brought a motion before the Travis County District Court to unseal the massive Christine Ellis qui tam suit filing that in redacted form appears to have 46 … Read More
TDMR has learned that Harlingen Family Dentistry has filed a lawsuit against HHSC and the OIG challenging their authority to impose a payment hold on Medicaid providers for a simple program violation. The case, styled Harlingen Family Dentistry, P.C. vs. … Read More
As was reported in the media, on June 25th, 2012, Texas orthodontist Christine Ellis filed a qui tam suit against dental chain All Smiles with the Dallas firm of Waters and Kraus acting on her behalf. Ellis has been one of the … Read More
TDMR has learned that Jason Ray, attorney at the Austin law firm of Riggs, Aleshire & Ray, P.C., recently negotiated a full settlement of an OIG complaint and payment hold against a dentist in the Dallas area. The dentist, who … Read More
On Friday, June 14th, without fanfare, Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 1803 into law. The legislation will take effect September 1st. This is a tremendous victory for all Medicaid providers in Texas as it provides for legislated due process … Read More
On May 29th, lawyers for Harlingen Family Dentistry and the Texas HHSC-OIG appeared in Travis County District Court before The Honorable Judge Amy Clark Meachum. As outlined in a previous article “Harlingen Family Dentistry Seeks Court Order for Return of … Read More
In a press release this past week, Harlingen Family Dentistry, the practice of Dr. Juan Villarreal in Harlingen, Tx, announced that through Austin attorney Jason Ray, it has filed a motion for a writ of mandamus in Travis County District … Read More
TDMR has responded in the McAllen Monitor to a piece reprinted there from the Texas Tribune from April 25th “Legislators Seek Action on Medicaid Fraud Measures.” TDMR Director of Communications Chuck Young penned an opinion piece regarding problems in the … Read More
On May 16th, SB 1803 (CSSB 1803) came before the Texas House of Representatives for third reading. Rep. Kolkhorst and Rep. Guerra added amendments and made comments about the necessity of putting in legislation due process rights for all Medicaid … Read More
This morning, the Texas House of Representatives passed CSSB 1803 with a vote of 119 to 20 in favor. This is a great victory for Medicaid providers as it for the first time outlines in legislation due process rights. The … Read More
Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform questions why Texas taxpayers will pay up to $500 an hour to Dallas law firm Waters & Kraus when legislators have already approved monies for OIG staff expansion; a trend if applied to all cases … Read More
The bill that was to enshrine due process rights for Medicaid providers now heads for a House vote and bears less resemblance to the bill that entered the House. SB 1803, now CSSB 1803, while having many good points remaining, … Read More
Since public testimony on Tuesday, the House Human Services Committee voted on a committee substitute for SB 1803, adding a number of clarifications and additions to the bill, and passed it 6-0, with three members not in attendance. The bill … Read More
Public testimony on SB 1803 was held on Tuesday, April 30th, before the House Human Services Committee. The House sponsor of the bill was no less that the chair of the House Public Health Committee Lois Kolkhorst. Again a number … Read More
AUSTIN, (April 30th, 2013) — Medicaid providers will speak out today in favor of Senate Bill 1803 before the Human Services Committee of the Texas House of Representatives. The bill provides for more thorough vetting of fraud claims by the … Read More
On Tuesday April 30th at 10:30 am, the Texas House Human Services Committee will hear public testimony on Senate Bill 1803. This bill passed the Senate unanimously 31-0 a few weeks ago and was drafted by Senator Joan Huffman, a … Read More
Group producing videos to show the human cost of enforcement actions against Medicaid providers without due process protections in place Austin, Tx (PRWeb): Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform (“TDMR”) has posted 13 videos of the public testimony given on March … Read More
The following dentists and one dental staff person spoke about their experiences with the Office of Inspector General while testifying in favor of House Bill 1536 during public testimony in front of the House Human Services Committee on March 19th. … Read More
The following lawyers testified in favor of House Bill 1536 during public testimony in front of the House Human Services Committee on March 19th. Tony Canales, author of HB 1536, speaks about why the bill is needed and his experience … Read More
We were recently on KXDJ radio, a Fox affiliate up in the Texas Panhandle. It was encouraging to get some support from a more tea-party oriented crowd. We’ve always thought that this issue should cut across party lines, and … Read More
A quick summary of the main points of Senate Bill 1803 follows. This is not a definitive list or exhaustive explanation of each point nor legally accurate. For that we refer you to the legislation itself to read. But the … Read More
Senate Bill 1803, authored by Sen. Joan Huffman and assisted by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, passed unanimously the Texas Senate yesterday, 31-0, and it is now ready to hit the House floor. The bill was amended by the Senate to … Read More
Along with providers and their employees, Texas’ GOP leadership has thrown thousands of kids under the bus In this pair of brief videos, we get an up-close look at the results of Governor Perry’s covert war on Medicaid providers. When … Read More
It’s politics as usual at the Capitol. But is the truth even uglier? Thanks to a deluge of calls and contacts from countless Medicaid providers, Senate Bill 1803 recently moved out of the Health and Human Services committee. As it’s … Read More
There’s a great deal of talk today about Medicaid Expansion. Texas’ Governor and both of its U.S. Senators have proclaimed their opposition to it; Texas Democrats and progressives have duly noted their support. But regardless of whether or not Governor … Read More
Senate Bill 1803 is another Medicaid provider due process bill like House Bill 1536 heard last week in the House Human Services Committee Yesterday, Chuck Young, TDMR spokesperson, testified at the public hearing of SB 1803, an act relating to … Read More
Spokesperson for TDMR expresses support for Senate bills that put a reign on Texas Office of Inspector General in placing “credible allegation of fraud” payment holds that bankrupt Medicaid providers without any due process… Austin, Tx (PRWEB) March 29, 2013: … Read More
Back in February, TDMR did an interview with Dr. Leonard Morse. Dr. Morse, a New York dentist who was one of that state’s top Medicaid billers, was accused of Medicaid fraud in 2006 and lost his entire practice. He fought … Read More
Medicaid providers including representatives from Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform got to tell their side of the story, joined by attorneys and other professionals to provide testimony at the first public hearing on HB-1536, a bill that aims to provide … Read More
With more Texas Legislators signing onto due process bills, Austin-based Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform also gets more interest Austin, Tx (PRWEB) March 09, 2013 – Fourteen State Representatives are now signed onto HB 1536 and two State Senators have … Read More
The 2008 Texas Medicaid Healthcare Partnership Prior Authorization Audit by the Office of the Inspector General HHSC placed on website to highlight that Texas authorities knew about private contractor’s deficiencies for years but did nothing Austin, Tx (PRWEB) February 27, … Read More
The following briefing was sent to the Texas Legislature on February 13: “Will Texas Be Held Legally Liable By Dentists Falsely Accused of Medicaid Fraud – As New York State Has Been?” Let’s look at the facts: 1. The New … Read More
HHSC-OIG motion to withdraw case against San Antonio orthodontic provider Dr. Diana Malone is a hopeful sign that Medicaid fraud enforcement agency is seeing the light on due process and provider rights Austin, Tx (PRWEB) February 07, 2013: The Texas … Read More
