USA Today reported last week that 27 corporations listed in the Standard & Poor’s 500 paid no income tax for 2015 despite having pre-tax profits. The corporate giants include General Motors, Hewlett Packard, United Continental, News Corp, Weyerhauser amongst others. … Read More
Xerox is on a list of 27 large and profitable companies that paid no income tax last year. A report in the USA Today lists Xerox as one of several profitable companies that reported negative income tax expenses in 2015. … Read More
On Jan. 6, Nevaeh Hall was running, playing and laughing at a Chuck E. Cheese indoor playground and game room.The next day, after a morning dental appointment, the 4 year old was in an ambulance en route to Texas Children’s … Read More
HHSC’s newsletter is available here – http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/stakeholder/
The Texas Supreme Court this week issued a ruling allowing a whistleblower suit filed by Michael McMillen, a former Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General attorney, to continue. McMillen contends he was fired in early 2012 for reporting … Read More
The Texas Supreme Court has given another shot to a former government lawyer who alleged he got fired after blowing the whistle that the state was illegally seeking reimbursement from some Medicaid recipients. F. Michael McMillen saw his employment lawsuit … 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
The Texas health commission finally has chosen a company to run a long-delayed massive data project, awarding it to the same firm whose tentative contract was canceled in 2014. The commission disclosed this week that it had decided to award … Read More
A high-ranking official at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is stepping down after he co-authored a controversial study that found fewer women accessed a Texas family planning program after Planned Parenthood was kicked out in 2013. Rick Allgeyer, the commission’s … 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
There have been many changes for Medicaid dental providers over the last few years. The change from fee-for-service to managed care. The upheaval caused by the former Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General and rampant allegations … Read More
Almost six months ago, undercover videos surfaced purporting to show officials with Planned Parenthood in Texas discussing illegal acts. Texas Republicans pounced, opening up multiple battlefronts against the embattled women’s health organization. With allegations flying that Planned Parenthood was illegally … Read More
A Dallas-area woman must serve nearly five years in federal prison in a Medicaid scam over false claims using the names of legitimate counselors. Brenda Ward of Cedar Hill was sentenced Friday in Dallas. The 48-year-old Ward in July pleaded … Read More
A state employee has been put on probation after a three-month internal investigation found that she had tried to secure a job for her daughter with a potential vendor. Jean Garcia, a technology service manager for the state’s Health and … Read More
After three decades in public life, including 14 years as governor, Rick Perry, private citizen, has registered as a lobbyist in Florida representing a dental benefits management firm whose top brass were the biggest contributors to his second failed presidential … Read More
The Texas Tribune this morning reported that former Texas governor Rick Perry is now the chief strategy officer over at MCNA, one of the two managed care organizations Texas now employs to handle Medicaid dental. It is Perry’s first employment position after … Read More
A year out of office, former Gov. Rick Perryhas a new job: chief strategy officer at MCNA Dental, the largest privatively held dental insurance company in the country, according to a spokesman for Perry. The Florida-based insurer does business in … Read More
This afternoon, the Health and Human Services Commission Inspector General Stuart Bowen sent out his second quarterly report – quite unlike his predecessor who sent out no such reports. It is a remarkable 28-pages and will take some time to … Read More
Research and Statistics If you use assistive technology, such as a screen reader, but are unable to read the information in these reports, please e-mail the webmaster to request an alternate format. CHIP and Medicaid Children’s Health Coverage (XLS) Texas … Read More
6) Bad Deals – Another session, another agency in scandal, another chief forced out. This time it was Health and Human Services Commissioner (and former state senator) Kyle Janek, plus his chief counsel (and former Travis County state rep) Jack … Read More
If you were in Amarillo the afternoon of Dec. 10, Trinity Fellowship Ministries was the place to be. As temperatures warmed outside, more than 80 people made their way into the Student Ministries Center Auditorium, each contemplating their chance to … Read More
We want to close out 2015 with a round-up of the year’s most important stories relating to TDMR issues. It has been an exceptional year for changes at the Health and Human Services Commission. The implosion that occurred at HHSC … Read More
Texas has violated the constitutional rights of foster children by exposing them to an unreasonable risk of harm in a system where children “often age out of care more damaged than when they entered,” a federal judge ruled Thursday. “Years … Read More
Chris Traylor, executive commissioner of the state Health and Human Services Commission, said Tuesday that the state is not cutting off resettlement monies for non-profit agencies involved in the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Texas over the objection of Gov. … 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
Almost two months after Gov. Greg Abbott praised state health officials for moving decisively to drop Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid health-care provider, the organization is still seeing patients and being reimbursed under the program.State health officials have not yet … Read More
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission sent out an email notification this morning that it is holding a number of public forums about the restructuring of the agency and requesting stakeholder input. We strongly suggest that Medicaid providers take … Read More
A suit to compel the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to release the full list of names of Medicaid providers that have been placed under a “credible allegation of fraud” payment hold since 2010 has been filed in Travis … Read More
Planned Parenthood’s Texas affiliates on Monday filed a federal lawsuit to keep state health officials from booting them from the state’s Medicaid program. Following Texas’ announcement in October that it would stop funding any care for poor women at Planned Parenthood clinics — a response … Read More
Health and Human Services (HHS) transformation presents an opportunity to restructure the Texas HHS system to make it more functional, efficient, effective and responsive. As this two-year transformation process unfolds, HHS agencies will be asking for input from stakeholders: the … Read More
A state worker who came under scrutiny during a high-profile contracting scandal last year has been paid more than $100,000 over the past 11 months without having to work a single day. Frianita Wilson — who earns $115,000 a year … Read More
November 17, 2015 — The Supreme Court of Texas has dismissed a petition that would have prevented practitioners from receiving Medicare funds when that provider is being investigated for fraud. In the November 13 dismissal, the state Supreme Court upheld … Read More
State officials canceled their multimillion-dollar Medicaid contract with financially troubled TAPS Public Transit on Thursday and launched an investigation into the possibility of fraud. Sherman-based Texoma Area Paratransit System won the three-year contract in July 2014 to provide non-emergency medical … Read More
As TDMR reported back at the end of September, the new Health and Human Services Commission Inspector General Stuart Bowen had started settling outstanding investigations and cases against Medicaid dentists and providers. Senator Charles Perry was quoted in the media … Read More
Medicaid providers can now find their patients’ medical histories on YourTexasBenefitsCard.com. Medicaid Eligibility and Health Information Services added the Blue Button to the site in September. Once a provider or office staff receives a client’s consent, they can log in to … Read More
AUSTIN – Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Chris Traylor announced today Dr. John Hellerstedt is returning to the HHS system Jan. 1, this time as commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.Hellerstedt, who last served the … Read More
In his first State of the State address to the Texas Legislature in early 2015, newly elected Gov. Greg Abbott challenged lawmakers to dedicate their unfolding 140-day session to ethics reform, asserting that “the most important commodity that we have … 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
