Recent legislative actions in North Dakota and North Carolina—both Republican-led states—highlight growing nationwide recognition of the urgent need for Medicaid dental reforms. These developments underscore a critical issue facing Texas: inadequate dental Medicaid reimbursement rates, which continue to hinder staffing, … Read More
Over the last several months, TDMR has been receiving anecdotal comments from Medicaid dental providers that they have found themselves truly between a rock and a hard place at this time. Although we have reported on a number of negative … Read More
UPDATE: The Texas HHS Open Records Office sent TDMR a further document that contains only the active number of dentists in the Texas Medicaid program from 1996 to 2022. The previous document used contained both active and inactive combined. This … Read More
The American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute last month published the results of an ongoing survey it has been conducting since January 2022, quizzing some 3,000 participating private practice dentists each month to measure the impact of COVID-19 and other … Read More
TDMR received this letter highlighting the difficulty Medicaid dental providers are having in today’s current economic climate and the need for the legislature this session to take corrective action. We publish it in hopes that it will reach open and … Read More
Thanks to the excessive prices for oil products due to the attempted embargo of Russian oil to punish the country for its war on Ukraine, the Texas state budget will benefit to the tune of some $27 billion, according to … Read More
This is a trial balloon. We’ve written numerous articles about the need for changes to the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act. The Act needs to be a deterrent for real fraudsters, not a state-supported protection racket to be used against … Read More
As 2017 dawned, Texas billionaire John Paul DeJoria had a $123 million problem. The shampoo and liquor magnate had swept into Morocco nearly two decades earlier to drill wells and reap profits in a coastal kingdom that had never struck … Read More
The Statesman published an article this morning about the scathing testimony heard by the House Committee on Human Services, chaired by Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, at a special hearing held yesterday in Edinburg. Wanted public and provider feedback on managed … Read More
TDMR recently reached out to Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, chair of the House Human Services Committee to get his views on the current scene and the future of dental Medicaid in Texas. Supporter of dental Medicaid Raymond has been a major force … Read More
By Marissa Evans June 27, 2018 Linda Badawo says she doesn’t know if managed care works or not — but it hasn’t worked for her family. Sitting with her son D’ashon beside her in his wheelchair, Badawo told legislators during … Read More
The Supreme Court of Texas today rejected an attempt by Xerox/Conduent to point the finger at Texas dentists when it goes to court in an attempt to defend itself from at least $2 billion in damages and penalties stemming from its failed Medicaid orthodontic prior authorization … Read More
In case anyone missed it, Charles Smith, the Executive Commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services retired at the end of May. The continuing saga of poor contracting practices at the state agency enraged legislators and Gov. Abbott. As the … Read More
In January of last year, Dr. Juan Villarreal’s long-awaited book “Truth Decay: How Government Corruption Caused a Political Scandal Victimizing Texas Dentists and How It Could Happen to You!” was released on Amazon.com. “Truth Decay” details Dr. Villarreal’s personal struggles … Read More
Texas policymakers are once again demonstrating their contempt for reproductive health care, the health care providers who offer those services, and the women who rely on them. The state has spent years crippling a once-successful program supporting family planning and … Read More
What does it take to become a priority in the Texas Legislature? As someone who provides nursing home care for the state’s frail and elderly, I often wonder why my residents and their caregivers never seems to be a priority … Read More
Austin: For the second session in a row, lawmakers largely ignored Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency call for ethics reform. After a modest reform package cleared the Senate early in the session (SB 14), lawmakers splintered it into six separate bills … Read More
State Sen. Carlos Uresti, accused of misleading a former client who invested in a company in which Uresti has a financial stake, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on 11 charges over his involvement in the alleged investment Ponzi scheme, … Read More
The chief budget writer in the Texas House on Friday proposed using $1.4 billion from the state’s savings account to pay bills coming due for a wide array of the state’s health and human services programs. The proposal from state … Read More
HB 2558, am act relating to capitation payments under a contract with a health maintenance organization for the provision of dental care services, has been introduced into this legislative session this week by State Rep. Dr. Tom Oliverson out of … Read More
TDMR has obtained a copy of a January 4 letter from State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa to Charles Smith, the Executive Commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services asking Smith to review MCO “credible allegations of fraud” payment holds. While … Read More
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst asked a pertinent question to Inspector General Stuart Bowen this past September, “Are you auditing MCOs for fraud?” The question came in the context of a hearing being held by the Senate Committee on Health and Human … Read More
In testimony before the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services in September, Inspector General Stuart Bowen shocked committee chairman Sen. Charles Schwertner with the revelation that the 22 MCOs (managed care organizations) operating in Texas had only found and … Read More
There may be help on the way for tens of thousands of disabled Texas children on the verge of losing much needed therapy to budget cuts.State House Speaker Joe Straus told the Texas Tribune lawmakers will work to make sure … Read More
Texas lawmakers on Thursday revisited the fate of a $150 million cut in state funding to Medicaid payments for disabled children’s therapy made in 2015 — though the outcome of that cut remains uncertain as a legal battle over its … Read More
Texas Health and Human Services Commission officials say they have no choice but to carry out the will of lawmakers and cut $350 million from the state’s Medicaid program.In September, state District Judge Tim Sulak temporarily blocked implementation of the … Read More
UPDATE: MCNA has responded to our recent request for a contact for provider complaints and provided information about their complaint process. See information below. Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) received significant mention in the report issued by the Health and Human … Read More
When Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick took to the mic on Texas Independence Day in March, he did so with the air of a man rallying his people before an alien invasion. “On March 2, 1836, a group of patriots gathered … Read More
The top manager of the teacher’s pension fund received more than $2.2 million on top of his $504,000 a year salary. A lawyer making $153,000 a year at the General Land Office took home an extra $147,000. The Department of … Read More
Dallas TV station WFAA is losing its long-time, award-winning investigative reporter Byron Harris to retirement. Harris announced a few weeks ago that he would be leaving the station in October, after spending 40 years with WFAA. It goes without saying … Read More
AUSTIN — Even as they left nearly $18 billion unspent, Texas lawmakers ordered a $350 million cut this year to Medicaid pay for therapists who perform one of health care’s most exacting jobs.In a two-year budget that was flush enough … Read More
This past Friday at the Leon Valley Conference Center in San Antonio, Star Compliance Services and TDMR held our third healthcare compliance seminar, following our recent successful seminar in Houston and the earlier one held in February at Weslaco. Gregory … Read More
AUSTIN – Two months after a massive no-bid contract erupted in scandal, eventually forcing four Texas health officials to resign, state senators finally got a chance Thursday to grill the first nominee that Gov. Greg Abbott has picked to help … Read More
This past Monday, the House Human Services Committee held a hearing about the current status of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General. A lot has happened in the last two months since the devastating hearings before … Read More
AUSTIN, TEXAS (Texas House of Representatives) – After Speaker Straus released committee assignments last Wednesday, Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, Chairman of the House Committee on Human Services, began work with his nine member committee setting the first hearing date for … Read More
by Edgar Walters, The Texas Tribune Amid scrutiny of how the state’s largest health agency has awarded contracts to private vendors, state lawmakers said Wednesday they had “lost confidence” in the office of the agency that investigates fraud. At the Senate … Read More
AUSTIN — Hours after a Houston state lawmaker called on the company at the center of a no-bid contract scandal to disclose its investors, the CEO said in a blog post it firm has none. Seeking a subtle way to … 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
Most recently, lawmakers have been looking at the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, asking it to scale back proposed rules that would affect the use of dental support organizations. Some dentists use the groups for tasks including marketing, accounting … Read More
AUSTIN — Texas is looking to reform the state office that goes after fraud in health care and human services: the Office of Inspector General. The Sunset Advisory Commission, which targets government waste within state agencies, recommended changes to the … Read More
