Three Texas HHS Commission employees were fired after Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott penned a letter to agency executives April 9 citing the department's "failure to ensure the integrity" of the state's insurance contract procurement process, according to The Texas Tribune.
At issue is the scoring tool the state used to select which insurance providers would win the state's contract to administer the Children's Health Insurance Program in rural areas across the state.
In Texas, insurers seeking government business must submit applications to the state HHS department, which are then scored by the agency and awarded to the applicants who scored the most points. Under the system, the state awarded CHIP contracts to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Driscoll Children's Health Plan, Texas Children's Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of Texas and Superior HealthPlan.
However, competing insurers reportedly reviewed their contracts following the decision and discovered the state's procurement tool had failed to tally points correctly, according to the report. As a result, the state canceled its contracts with the five insurers.
A state HHS department spokesperson told The Texas Tribune children's access to healthcare services would not be affected by the cancellation, as the contracts were scheduled to go into effect Sept. 1.
It is unclear if the procurement error affected other healthcare contracts.
In his letter, Mr. Abbott said he ordered an investigation into the situation, but said he does not believe the issue resulted from "intentional misconduct," The Texas Tribune reports.
"Mistakes like this are unacceptable, which is why I am requesting immediate action to examine and address errors in the existing procurement tool and system as well as the underlying process moving forward," Mr. Abbott wrote.
To access the full report, click here.