Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Inspector General Doug Wilson resigned on Friday, December 19, after the Texas state auditor said it was launching an investigation into no-bid contracts brokered by Wilson.
Gov. Rick Perry requested his resignation, according to a spokesperson. Wilson's last day will be December 31, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Texas HHSC's chief counsel, Jack Stick, resigned a week ago, amid an ongoing investigation by the Austin newspaper. Stick was being investigated for his role in helping Austin data analytics firm 21CT secure a $110 million contract to investigate Medicaid fraud.
On Thursday, December 18, Perry and other state officials called for investigations into all transactions between the state and 21CT.
Earlier this month, a Texas appeals court invalidated several rules related to payment holds imposed during Medicaid fraud investigations, saying they violated due process rights.
In August, a federal report laid the responsibility for hundreds of millions of dollars spent on dental and orthodontic procedures that may have been medically unnecessary squarely on HHSC, the agency that oversaw the program.
The Office of Inspector General has been criticized for collecting only $5.5 million in the last year following a Texas Sunset Commission report that cited hundreds of millions of dollars of Medicaid fraud.
