The latest Medicaid news from The Texas Tribune.
A board of medical professionals appointed by Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that the state should provide health coverage to low-income Texans under the Affordable Care Act — a move the Republican-led Legislature has opposed. Full Story
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Texas’ top health official told lawmakers Wednesday that they should combine the state's five health departments into one “mega-agency.” Full Story
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Next session, lawmakers will have 29 billion reasons to reconsider Medicaid expansion. That's how many federal dollars the Obama administration could hold hostage in exchange for some solution for 1 million uninsured Texans. Full Story
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A federal agency is reviewing arrangements between private Texas hospitals and local government entities to ensure they did not violate a rule that allowed the state to draw down federal dollars to cover health care for the uninsured. Full Story
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Texas continues to rank as the state with the highest rate of residents without health insurance, with 22.1 percent of the population lacking coverage, according to early U.S. Census Bureau figures released Tuesday. Full Story
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Increased funding for preventive care and luring medical professionals to Texas are at the center of gubernatorial frontrunner Greg Abbott’s health care plan, unveiled in Houston on Wednesday. Full Story
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Legislators in 2015 are poised to take up a proposal that would have the state close nursing homes that rack up high-level federal violations on three separate days over a two-year period. Full Story
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The increasing number of urgent care centers in Texas is proving problematic for hospitals, which say they are competing with the clinics for the same pool of insured Texans at a time when they are also getting less money to cover the cost of treating uninsured patients. Full Story
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The state of Texas on Tuesday announced a second lawsuit against Xerox, alleging that the former contractor failed to turn over client health records relating to its operation of the state Medicaid program. Full Story
Texas is “ultimately responsible” for millions of misspent Medicaid dollars, according to a new federal audit, because a state agency failed to properly oversee the contractor. Full Story
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Our new Hospitals Explorer helps you learn more about the quality of care available at 377 Texas hospitals that reported Medicare data. See how hospitals in your area compare with one another and with state and national standards. Full Story
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Texas women who receive state-financed health services may be able to more easily access contraceptive products like intrauterine devices and hormonal implants beginning Friday, when rule changes to the state’s Medicaid program and the Texas Women’s Health Program go into effect. Full Story
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More than 80,000 additional Texans have enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act last fall, despite Republican state leaders’ decision not to expand eligibility. Full Story
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A new treatment for hepatitis C is considered a breakthrough for people with the liver disease. But the high cost of the drug has complicated efforts to get the medication to Texans who receive government-subsidized health care. Full Story
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Nurse practitioners say state regulations, which link them to supervising physicians, limit their ability to treat patients in a state with a looming shortage of primary care physicians. Full Story
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Health officials canceled a multi-million-dollar contract with Xerox, and the state sued the contractor on Friday amid allegations it erroneously doled out hundreds of millions of dollars for medically unnecessary Medicaid claims. Full Story
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A little-known provision of the Affordable Care Act grants certain young adults who were formerly in foster care extended health coverage through Medicaid until they turn 26. But locating and enrolling them could prove tough. Full Story
While health officials have repeatedly raised concerns with a state contractor for its role in opening the door to a massive Medicaid fraud scheme, they have not severed its multiyear contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Full Story
While dental providers accused of overbilling Texas' Medicaid program by hundreds of millions of dollars remain in legal limbo, the contractor that approved the procedures is still being paid more than $100 million annually by the state. Full Story
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In 2010, Texas spent more on Medicaid orthodontic services than the nation’s nine other most populous states combined. Now, state investigators are on a mission to reclaim hundreds of millions of misspent Medicaid dollars. So, how'd the state get in this mess in the first place? Full Story
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