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 on Wednesday deployed a so-called “strike force” to investigate the operations and contracting decisions within the state’s top health agency. Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek, meanwhile, has hired a pair of experts to “help strengthen oversight and monitoring of contracts” inside the HHSC, which oversees the Department of State Health Services; the Department of Aging and Disability Services; the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services; and the Department of Family and Protective Service.
“In the wake of recent revelations at the Health and Human Services Commission, my transition team has taken steps to ensure there is a full and thorough outside review of management, operations, and contracting at the agency,” Abbott wrote in a release. “We have coordinated with HHSC Commissioner Kyle Janek on this initiative and he has pledged his agency’s full cooperation.”
via Texas Governor-Elect Abbott Targets Fraud At State’s Top Health Agency « D Healthcare Daily.