TexasTribune.org

After a tongue-lashing from the governor, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is back in hot water over how it awards contracts to private health care companies. A health commission spokeswoman said three employees had been fired after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott penned a sharply worded letter to Executive Commissioner Charles Smith bemoaning his “failure to ensure the integrity” of the state’s procurement process. At issue was an award granted to a health insurance company to administer the Children’s Health Insurance Program in rural parts of the state. Problems arose with the scoring tool used to decide which company should win the contract. At the health commission, insurance companies seeking to do government business must submit competitive applications, which are supposed to be scored by the agency and awarded based on which application received the most points.