Gov. Greg Abbott is directing state officials to investigate Medicaid fraud in Texas.
Abbott sent a letter on January 16, ordering the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Office of Inspector General to launch an investigation into Medicaid programs for potential fraud.
Officials must provide a progress report by March 15.
“Texas provides critical healthcare services to children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities through the state’s Medicaid program,” Abbott wrote. “Access to medical services is a key component in supporting these individuals and Medicaid fraud robs taxpayers and impairs their ability to receive necessary healthcare.”
Abbott addressed the letter specifically to Texas HHS Inspector General Raymond Winter and Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth. He gave them a list of goals:
- Review Medicaid services recently identified by President Donald Trump’s administration as “susceptible to higher incidences of fraud” and use the OIG to investigate potential fraud.
- Ensure Medicaid managed care organizations have fully staffed special investigations units and are conducting legally required anti-fraud investigations.
- Train these special investigative units to “prevent, detect, and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse” in Medicaid.
- Review policies of Medicaid managed care organizations for the services most vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.
- Review autism services and provide a report in June 2026.
- Highlight the OIG online fraud reporting portal.
“During my tenure as Governor, Texas has policed the Medicaid program and proactively combatted fraud, but we will strengthen our efforts to further protect taxpayers, preserve access for eligible Texans, and maintain the integrity of Texas’ Medicaid Program,” Abbott wrote.
This month, Trump launched a new DOJ division for national fraud enforcement, as The Dallas Express reported. This came in the wake of massive fraud revelations in Minnesota – first with Somali communities funneling welfare money to the terror group al-Shabaab, then with potentially phony daycares collecting state funds.
Abbott volunteered Texas as the test site for a pilot program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to root out fraud in affordable housing, as The Dallas Express also reported. Earlier, he ordered an investigation into state childcare fraud.
“The Trump administration and independent journalists have uncovered potential systematic fraud in subsidized child care systems in states like Minnesota,” Abbott said at the time. “Such fraud will never be tolerated in Texas.”
