Terrell State Hospital Privatization Deal Scuttled After Audit
A plan to privatize Terrell State Hospital is dead following a scathing audit that raps the state health commission for bypassing its own contracting procedures. Full Story
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![Terrell State Hospital is one of 10 state psychiatric hospitals.]()
Credit: Texas Department of State Health Services -
Obamacare Cash Helps Pay State's Medicaid Bill
Texas Republicans have long used the Affordable Care Act as a political punching bag, but that hasn’t stopped state budget writers from taking $102 million from the president's signature health care law to pay some bills. Full Story
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Post-Scandal, Lawmakers Changing Gears on Health Agency
As the state’s largest health agency reels from a scandal over how it awarded contracts to private vendors, lawmakers on Wednesday said they are slowing down on their ambitious — and controversial — plan to restructure it. Full Story
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![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, wraps up the Sunset Advisory Commission hearing on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
State Medicaid Probes Produce Paltry Results
Three years ago, the office responsible for rooting out Medicaid fraud and abuse set a goal of finding $1 billion a year in misspent funds. But it's collecting about $995 million less than that. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Conservatives Join Push to Pay Care Workers More
Personal attendants help the elderly and disabled with daily tasks ranging from rising and eating to bathing and going to the bathroom. For that, the state pays them about $8 an hour. Gov. Greg Abbott and some fiscal conservatives want to raise their wages. Full Story
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![People with disabilities protest at the Texas Capitol against budget cuts to home and community-based services on March 1, 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
New Sheriff Arrives at Troubled Health Agency
The new chief watchdog for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission told lawmakers Monday he plans to right the embattled department by going after fraud and waste outside and inside the $37 billion state social services empire. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Poor Payouts Endangering Medicaid, Doctors Say
Physicians’ groups told Texas budget writers on Thursday that the state’s health insurance program for the poor pays doctors so little that it is endangering the health of the program. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Inside Texas Politics: The Big Three
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, talk turns to the Big Three: Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey on WFAA's "Inside Texas Politics" on Feb. 15, 2015.]()
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Was 21CT Contract Built on Lie to Federal Agency?
When the Texas Health and Human Services Commission asked the federal government for $18 million to foot most of the bill for new Medicaid fraud tracking software, it assured Washington counterparts the deal had been competitively bid. That was not true. Full Story
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![Former HHSC Inspector General Doug Wilson, left, and his former second-in-command, Jack Stick.]()
Credit: Erich Schlegel -
Stick's Investigators Got Badges, and Taxpayers Got the $36,000 Bill
Emblems of Jack Stick’s days as the state health agency's deputy inspector general remain: roughly 300 high-dollar badges he designed and ordered for his investigators at a cost to taxpayers of $36,000. Full Story
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![A photo of one of the $80 badges ordered by Jack Stick (left) when he was HHSC deputy inspector general.]()
Credit: Erich Schlegel -
Drug Testing for Welfare Benefits Back on the Table
After a few failed legislative attempts, Republican lawmakers are once again working to make drug testing mandatory for some Texans who receive state welfare benefits. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Senator Talks of "Lost Confidence" in Health Agency Watchdog
At the Senate Health and Human Services Committee's first meeting of the legislative session, Chairman Charles Schwertner shared some tough criticism of the Health and Human Services Commission's Office of Inspector General. Full Story
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![Sen. Charles Schwertner R-Georgetown, at a February Texas Tribune event.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: It's a Mess, but It's Someone Else's Mess
Government misadventures, like the current contracting scandals in Texas, don't make voters happy. But they don't necessarily hurt the people in office — especially when it's easy to hang the blame on the officeholders they replaced. Full Story
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![The day before Greg Abbott was sworn in as governor, he met with his predecessor, Gov. Rick Perry, who marked the 1925 Pat Neff Bible on Jan. 19, 2015, and passed it on to Abbott.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Echoes of Fights Past in Health Consolidation
Twelve years after a major mash-up of state health agencies, the Sunset Commission and several lawmakers say it's time to finish the job and merge the remaining five systems into one. Some veteran Capitol observers say they're feeling déjà vu. Full Story
![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, wraps up the Sunset Advisory Commission hearing on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The HHSC-21CT Contract Investigations: How Did It Get to This Point?
A now-canceled deal between the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and a software maker is the subject of scrutiny and is also causing greater talk of state contract reforms. Here's a look back at the deal and what led to the current investigations. Full Story
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![Irene Williams, the CEO of 21CT, and Jack Stick, who recently resigned as the top lawyer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich/Erich Schlegel -
In State Contracting, Failure is an Option
Texas's tendency to privatize state services has led to contracting scandals erupting regularly. But a history of cost overruns or bad performance hardly bars a company from winning future jobs. Full Story
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State Auditor Sees Weaknesses in Agency Contracting
When it comes to contracting, state agencies struggle with shopping for a vendor and monitoring that vendor's performance, the Texas state auditor's office says in a new report. Full Story
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The Health Care Budget: Four Things to Know
Texas can rebel against Obamacare and Medicaid expansion all it wants, but enrollment in the state's insurance program for the poor is growing, and the federal government will be paying for less of it. An additional $1.3 billion might be needed just to maintain the status quo. Full Story
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Sen. Nelson Looks to Strengthen Contracting Oversight
Following a controversial no-bid deal at the Health and Human Services Commission, Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed a bill on Monday that seeks to strengthen oversight of state contracting. Full Story
![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, wraps up the Sunset Advisory Commission hearing on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Carson: Don't Talk ACA Repeal Without Alternative Plan
Speaking Thursday at the Texas Hospital Association conference in Austin, potential GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson said it was a “mistake to talk about repealing” the Affordable Care Act without offering an alternative. Full Story
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![Dr. Ben Carson delivered a keynote speech Jan. 22, 2015, at the Texas Hospital Association conference in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich
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