Title GV, Government Code

Sec. 544.0052. RULES REGARDING ENFORCEMENT AND PUNITIVE ACTIONS. (a) The executive commissioner, in consultation with the office of inspector general, shall adopt rules establishing criteria for determining enforcement and punitive actions regarding a provider who violated state …

Sec. 544.0053. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO PHARMACY SUBJECT TO AUDIT; INFORMAL HEARING ON AUDIT FINDINGS. (a) To increase transparency, the office of inspector general shall, if the office has access to the information, provide to pharmacies that are subject to audit by the offic…

Sec. 544.0054. RECORDS OF ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD OR ABUSE. The commission shall maintain a record of all allegations of fraud or abuse against a provider containing the date each allegation was received or identified and the source of the allegation, if available. The record is con…

Sec. 544.0055. RECORD AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMAL RESOLUTION MEETINGS. (a) On the written request of a provider who requests an informal resolution meeting held under Section 544.0304 or 544.0506(b), the commission shall, at no expense to the provider, provide for the meeting…

Sec. 544.0056. EXPUNCTION OF CHILD'S CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY DIAGNOSIS IN CERTAIN RECORDS. (a) In this section: (1) "Chemical dependency" has the meaning assigned by Section 461A.002, Health and Safety Code. (2) "Child" means an individual who is 13 years of age or younger. (b) After…

Sec. 544.0101. APPOINTMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL; TERM. (a) The governor shall appoint an inspector general to serve as director of the office of inspector general. (b) The inspector general serves a one-year term that expires February 1. Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 7…

Sec. 544.0102. COMMISSION POWERS AND DUTIES RELATED TO OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. (a) The executive commissioner shall work in consultation with the office of inspector general when the executive commissioner is required by law to adopt a rule or policy necessary to implement a…

Sec. 544.0103. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL: GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The office of inspector general is responsible for: (1) preventing, detecting, auditing, inspecting, reviewing, and investigating fraud, waste, and abuse in the provision and delivery of all health and hum…

Sec. 544.0104. EMPLOYMENT OF MEDICAL DIRECTOR. (a) The office of inspector general shall employ a medical director who: (1) is a licensed physician under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code, and the rules the Texas Medical Board adopts under that subtitle; and (2) preferably ha…

Sec. 544.0105. EMPLOYMENT OF DENTAL DIRECTOR. (a) The office of inspector general shall employ a dental director who: (1) is a licensed dentist under Subtitle D, Title 3, Occupations Code, and the rules the State Board of Dental Examiners adopts under that subtitle; and (2) prefe…

Sec. 544.0106. PROCUREMENT OF QUALIFIED EXPERT ON BEHALF OF OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. A qualified expert retained by the commission on behalf of the office of inspector general is considered an expert witness for purposes of Section 2151.005. Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S…

Sec. 544.0107. EMPLOYMENT OF PEACE OFFICERS. (a) The office of inspector general shall employ and commission not more than five peace officers at any given time to assist the office in carrying out the office's duties relating to the investigation of Medicaid fraud, waste, and ab…

Sec. 544.0108. INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS REVIEW. (a) Office of inspector general staff who are not directly involved in investigations the office conducts shall review the office's investigative process, including the office's use of sampling and extrapolation to audit provider recor…

Sec. 544.0109. PERFORMANCE AUDITS AND COORDINATION OF AUDIT ACTIVITIES. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the office of inspector general may conduct a performance audit of any program or project administered or agreement entered into by the commission or a health and human serv…

Sec. 544.01091. PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL AUDITS OF LOCAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES AND LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES. The office of inspector general shall conduct performance audits and require financial audits to be conducted of each local behavioral health authority des…

Sec. 544.0110. REPORTS ON AUDITS, INSPECTIONS, AND INVESTIGATIONS. (a) The office of inspector general shall prepare a final report on each audit, inspection, or investigation conducted under Section 544.0102, 544.0103, 544.0252(b), 544.0254, or 544.0257. The final report must in…

Sec. 544.0111. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL CODING GUIDELINES. (a) In this section, "federal coding guidelines" means the code sets and guidelines the United States Department of Health and Human Services adopts in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Ac…

Sec. 544.0112. HOSPITAL UTILIZATION REVIEWS AND AUDITS: PROVIDER EDUCATION PROCESS. The executive commissioner, in consultation with the office of inspector general, shall develop by rule a process for the office, including office staff and any third party with which the office c…

Sec. 544.0113. PROGRAM EXCLUSIONS. The office of inspector general, in consultation with this state's Medicaid fraud control unit, shall establish guidelines under which program exclusions: (1) may permissively be imposed on a provider; or (2) shall automatically be imposed on a …

Sec. 544.0114. REPORT. (a) At each quarterly meeting of any advisory council responsible for advising the executive commissioner on the commission's operation, the inspector general shall submit to the executive commissioner, the governor, and the legislature a report on: (1) the…

Sec. 544.0115. PERMITTED DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION. For purposes of performing the duties of the office of inspector general under this subchapter, the office may disclose information obtained in the course of conducting the office's administrative oversight activities to…

Sec. 544.0151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Health care professional" means an individual issued a license to engage in a health care profession. (2) "License" means a license, certificate, registration, permit, or other authorization that: (A) a licensing authority issu…

Sec. 544.0152. EXCHANGE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION BETWEEN PARTICIPATING AGENCIES. (a) This section applies only to: (1) criminal history record information a participating agency holds that relates to a health care professional; and (2) information a participating ag…

Sec. 544.0153. PROVIDER ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAID PARTICIPATION: CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION. (a) The office of inspector general and each licensing authority that requires the submission of fingerprints to conduct a criminal history record information check of a health ca…

Sec. 544.0154. MONITORING OF CERTAIN FEDERAL DATABASES. The office of inspector general shall routinely check appropriate federal databases, including databases referenced in 42 C.F.R. Section 455.436, to ensure that a person excluded by the federal government from participating …

Sec. 544.0155. PERIOD FOR DETERMINING PROVIDER ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAID. (a) Not later than the 10th day after the date the office of inspector general receives a health care professional's complete application seeking to participate in Medicaid, the office shall inform the commi…

Sec. 544.0202. DUTIES RELATED TO FRAUD PREVENTION. (a) The office of inspector general shall compile and disseminate accurate information and statistics relating to: (1) fraud prevention; and (2) post-fraud referrals received and accepted or rejected from the commission's or a he…

Sec. 544.0203. FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE DETECTION TRAINING. (a) The commission shall develop and implement a program to provide annual training on identifying potential cases of Medicaid fraud, waste, or abuse to: (1) contractors who process Medicaid claims; and (2) appropriate he…

Sec. 544.0204. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY MEDICAID FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE DETECTION GOAL. (a) The health and human services agencies, in cooperation with the commission, shall periodically set a goal for the number of potential cases of Medicaid fraud, waste, or abuse that…

Sec. 544.0205. AWARD FOR REPORTING MEDICAID FRAUD, ABUSE, OR OVERCHARGES. (a) The commission may grant an award to an individual who reports activity that constitutes fraud or abuse of Medicaid funds or who reports Medicaid overcharges if the commission determines that the disclo…

Sec. 544.0251. CLAIMS CRITERIA REQUIRING COMMENCEMENT OF INVESTIGATION. The executive commissioner, in consultation with the inspector general, by rule shall set specific claims criteria that, when met, require the office of inspector general to begin an investigation. Added by A…

Sec. 544.0252. CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING COMMENCEMENT OF PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED FRAUD OR ABUSE. (a) Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 260 (H.B. 142), Sec. 6(2), eff. September 1, 2025. (b) The office of inspector general shall conduct a preliminary investiga…

Sec. 544.0253. CONDUCT OF PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED FRAUD OR ABUSE. In conducting a preliminary investigation of an allegation of fraud or abuse and before the allegation may proceed to a full investigation, the office of inspector general must: (1) review the allegati…

Sec. 544.0254. FINDING OF CERTAIN MEDICAID FRAUD OR ABUSE FOLLOWING PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION: CRIMINAL REFERRAL OR FULL INVESTIGATION. If the findings of a preliminary investigation give the office of inspector general reason to believe that an incident of Medicaid fraud or abus…

Sec. 544.0255. IMMEDIATE CRIMINAL REFERRAL UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. If the office of inspector general learns or has reason to suspect that a provider's records are being withheld, concealed, destroyed, fabricated, or in any way falsified, the office shall immediately refer t…

Sec. 544.0256. CONTINUATION OF PAYMENT HOLD FOLLOWING REFERRAL TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. (a) If this state's Medicaid fraud control unit or another law enforcement agency accepts a fraud referral from the office of inspector general for investigation, a payment hold based on a c…

Sec. 544.0257. COMPLETION OF FULL INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED MEDICAID FRAUD OR ABUSE. (a) The office of inspector general shall complete a full investigation of a complaint or allegation of Medicaid fraud or abuse against a provider not later than the 180th day after the date the f…

Sec. 544.0258. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR ASSISTING ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO MEDICAID. (a) The commission and the attorney general shall enter into a memorandum of understanding under which the commission shall: (1) provide investigative support to the atto…

Sec. 544.0259. SUBPOENAS. (a) The office of inspector general may issue a subpoena in connection with an investigation the office conducts. The subpoena may be: (1) issued to compel the attendance of a relevant witness or the production, for inspection or copying, of relevant evi…

Sec. 544.0301. IMPOSITION OF PAYMENT HOLD. (a) As authorized by state and federal law and except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), the office of inspector general shall impose, as a serious enforcement tool to mitigate ongoing financial risk to this state, a payment hold on…

Sec. 544.0302. NOTICE. (a) The office of inspector general shall notify a provider of a payment hold imposed under Section 544.0301(a) in accordance with 42 C.F.R. Section 455.23(b) and, except as provided by that regulation, not later than the fifth day after the date the office…

Sec. 544.0303. EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING. (a) A provider subject to a payment hold imposed under Section 544.0301(a), other than a hold this state's Medicaid fraud control unit requested, must request an expedited administrative hearing not later than the 10th day after th…

Sec. 544.0304. INFORMAL RESOLUTION. (a) The executive commissioner, in consultation with the office of inspector general, shall adopt rules that allow a provider subject to a payment hold imposed under Section 544.0301(a), other than a hold this state's Medicaid fraud control uni…

Sec. 544.0305. WEBSITE POSTING. The office of inspector general shall post on the office's publicly available Internet website a description in plain English of, and a video explaining, the processes and procedures the office uses to determine whether to impose a payment hold on …

Sec. 544.0351. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter applies only to a managed care organization that provides or arranges for the provision of health care services to an individual under a government-funded program, including Medicaid and the child health plan program. Ad…

Sec. 544.0352. SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT OR CONTRACTED ENTITY TO INVESTIGATE FRAUD AND ABUSE. (a) A managed care organization to which this subchapter applies shall: (1) establish and maintain a special investigative unit within the organization to investigate fraudulent claims …