Veteran state Sen. John Whitmire has called for the resignation of Kyle Janek, the top official at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which is now at the center of state and federal investigations for its multimillion-dollar, no-bid deals … Read More
The FBI is now investigating the multimillion-dollar, no-bid deal brokered by officials at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, whose chief is facing increasing pressure from lawmakers who want answers. And Gov.-elect Greg Abbott has assembled a special “strike … Read More
Controversial no-bid contracts that resulted in a firing, a resignation, and an apparent criminal investigation into the Texas Health and Human Services Commission have spurred further inquiry from both the governor’s office and the agency’s executive commissioner. Gov.-elect Greg Abbott … Read More
AUSTIN – The director of Texas’ massive state health agency personally pushed lawmakers to approve a $90 million extension of a major contract even after news reports showed the initial deal was awarded without competition and potentially subject to conflicts … Read More
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the creation of an independent “strike force” to review the state’s largest health agency, specifically how it awards contracts to private vendors. “In the wake of recent revelations at the Health and Human Services Commission, … Read More
The Sunset Commission took its final votes Wednesday on a body of all recommendations, including a 2,300-page rewrite of the health and human services code to align the code to both current practices and recommended changes at its related agencies. … Read More
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott will deploy an independent “strike force” to delve into the state’s beleaguered health agency, whose contracting with an Austin tech company is already the subject of a criminal investigation and inquiry by the state auditor. “In the … Read More
Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek today announced that he’s assembling a team of experts to help strengthen oversight and monitoring of contracts. “The primary way we deliver services across our agencies is through contracts, and it … Read More
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission sent out a report today that a study has found that in 2011 more children enrolled with the Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) had received dental care than the national average. – … Read More
Since November, the chief executive of Austin tech company 21CT has repeatedly said she first met Jack Stick in 2011, when she and the former state official began brokering a multimillion-dollar, no-bid deal that is now the subject of a … Read More
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
If Jack Stick could be any animal, he would be a liger. A cross-breed between a lion and a tiger might seem like a whimsical answer to the question posed in the 2011 job interview, just before he was hired … Read More
In an era when Texas government is supposed to be efficient, cost-effective and mindful of taxpayer dollars, a miracle to be emulated by other states thanks to the Perry administration, the media continues to uncover incredible betrayals of public trust … Read More
AUSTIN, TEXAS A top deputy at Texas’ massive state health agency received the job without any competition and then was granted nearly $100,000 to pay for his graduate school tuition, according to state records. Casey Haney, a former aide to … Read More
In violation of its own policy, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission paid $97,020 so a top aide to Commissioner Kyle Janek — and former aide to ousted chief counsel Jack Stick — could pursue an MBA degree, The … Read More
AUSTIN – A well-connected former political aide landed a lucrative job at Texas’ sprawling state health commission without having to apply, and then got his boss to give him a lump sum of nearly $100,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund … Read More
AUSTIN –Texas state health officials have decided not to release any more records about a controversial no-bid contract until a criminal investigation has been completed, reversing an earlier pledge to produce the public documents. Spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman told reporters this … Read More
A state senator wants the Texas auditor to review how a private firm was selected to operate a state psychiatric hospital in Terrell. The request from state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, is the second recent call for an audit of the way … Read More
A no-bid state contract for $110 million, state officials being shown the door and the agency’s top official insisting he was misled. It all points to a need for more strenuous oversight at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. … Read More
Today, HHSC-OIG issued a report detailing amounts recovered by state managed care organizations for certain fraud and abuse in state fiscal year 2014. 22 MCOs recover $3.8 million The report entitled “HHSC OIG Annual Report on Certain Fraud and Abuse … Read More
To be sure, the mishandling of contracts involving tens of millions of dollars in public money by the state Health and Human Services Commission exposes the agency’s grave incompetence in oversight, but also points to a Legislature that has failed … Read More
An Austin tech executive gave political contributions to Republican House Speaker Joe Straus and other lawmakers days before her company sought approval of a $90 million contract that is now the focus of a criminal investigation, a newspaper reported Saturday. … Read More
AUSTIN – The deal was sweet enough to cost Jack Stick his job as the top lawyer at Texas’s sprawling state health agency: a multimillion-dollar contract given without competition to a local company with no experience in the field. Three … Read More
Forget about losing weight and quitting smoking, Texans need to resolve to pay more attention in 2015. The recent controversies, suspected fraud, and backroom deals taking place within Texas state agencies are happening so fast that it’s hard to keep … Read More
AUSTIN — Serious conflict of interest and oversight problems plagued a massive telecommunications deal between AT&T and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, state auditors said Tuesday, fanning the flames of a scandal over another large contract. Unlike that … Read More
The state’s umbrella health and social services agency has fumbled yet another contract, allowing huge cost overruns on a telecom contract with Dallas-based AT&T Inc., according to an audit released Tuesday. State Auditor John Keel, who reports to the Legislature, … Read More
*Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout. Texas Health and Human Services Commission chief Kyle Janek said Tuesday he was misled in briefings on a no-bid, $110 million deal handed to an Austin company for unproven software to detect Medicaid … Read More
The CEO of data analytics company 21CT, whose $110 million deal with the state’s massive health agency is now the focus of a criminal investigation, is asking for yet more money from the state. CEO Irene Williams is asking for … Read More
According to a story in the Austin American Statesman today, the leadership of HHSC Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek is being questioned by state Sen. John Whitmire in the upheaval that is shaking HHSC over the now-canceled multi-million dollar contract for … Read More
State health officials circumvented two separate contract oversight boards when they brokered a $110 million no-bid deal with an Austin tech company — a transaction which is now the subject of a criminal investigation and much public scrutiny after two … Read More
While he was brokering a multimillion-dollar state contract for Austin technology company 21CT, then-state health official Jack Stick was promoting 21CT’s software to other states, assisting the company’s growth plans and seemed poised to take an executive position with the … Read More
AUSTIN — Jack Stick has left the building. The high-ranking Texas Health and Human Services Commission official, who submitted his resignation last Friday amid evidence of contracting favoritism, had planned to stay on the job until early next year, but instead … Read More
*Editor’s note: This story has been updated. As questions continue to surround agreements made between the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and a contractor, a legislator is calling for investigators to get involved. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, on … Read More
Jack Stick resigned last week as top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Nine months before Jack Stick resigned as the top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission amid concerns over a $110 million no-bid … Read More
During a March 2012 webinar, a top Texas health official said his office was implementing a revolutionary tool to help Medicaid fraud investigators find bad guys: graph pattern analysis.“Graph pattern analysis is really the next line of defense for this … Read More
It is now official – Jack Stick, HHSC Chief Counsel and former OIG deputy inspector general for enforcement, has resigned from HHSC over published allegations of interference in the HHSC contracting process on two contracts – one for data mining software … Read More
The top lawyer at the Texas state agency overseeing all health and human services has resigned following concerns about a $110 million no-bid contract. Jack Stick, the general counsel at the Health and Human Services Commission, offered his resignation after … Read More
State administrators cannot withhold Medicaid payments from physicians suspected of program violations without evidence of fraud, a Texas appeals court has ruled. Appellate judges also struck down a rule that enabled the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to … Read More
In today’s public hearings, members of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission passed staff recommendations and supplemental additions made by a special work group, relating to the Health and Human Services Commission Office of the Inspector General. The final report is now online and … Read More
Almost two and a half years after his arrest for DWI, the date for a trial by jury has been set for Jack Stick, HHSC Chief Counsel and former OIG deputy inspector general for enforcement. The trial is now set … Read More
