Texas policymakers spent almost eight hours discussing how to reduce fraud in social services programs as state and federal pressure mount. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard from several state officials and more than 50 members of the public during an interim committee hearing. The committee was tasked by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in January to “explore and recommend ways to prevent fraud and abuse” in programs like Medicaid.
Committee chair Sen. Lois Kolkhorst framed the issue as urgent: “We are dealing today with a health care epidemic, but not from a disease or virus. We’re examining [a] nationwide epidemic of fraud in health care.” She noted that fraud scandals in Minnesota and California have drawn national attention, prompting Texas to examine its own system. However, Kolkhorst acknowledged that Texas already has one of the lowest Medicaid error rates in the country, stating: “We’re better. But do we need to improve? Absolutely.”
State Response Measures
Texas Health and Human Services executive commissioner Stephanie Muth outlined anti-fraud strategies. The state was among the first to implement electronic visit verification, which allows home health workers to “clock in” and “clock out,” and could use that data to verify Medicaid claims. The Office of the Inspector General surveyed Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and found several did not meet staffing requirements for required fraud investigation units and had credentialing gaps.
New enforcement approaches include expanding background check reviews. In the past, about 20% of high-risk provider applications were sent to the Office of the Inspector General; now the agency receives 70%. A key change involves reviewing entire hospital systems when one entity is high-risk: “If you have one entity within your larger system that’s considered high risk, everyone is considered high risk,” according to principal deputy inspector general Susan Biles.
For child care services, the Texas Workforce Commission implemented a new requirement for parents to both check children in and out daily, previously just one or the other. The agency is developing requirements for centers to use TWC-issued tablets that photograph the person dropping off the child. TWC commissioners approved amendments to child care rules focusing on fraud, with public comment accepted through April 27.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.keranews.org/health-wellness/2026-04-09/texas-senate-health-human-services-committee-medicaid-child-care-social-services-fraud-hhsc-twc