The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) are investigating many health care providers who have given out prescriptions for large amounts of powerful psychiatric drugs. Some of these drugs were given out to children. The Dallas Star-Telegram is stating that the HHSC has already referred three of the providers to the state attorney general for possible prosecution. This was given to the news by Thomas Suehs, Health Commissioner. Some other providers have been referred to the state’s private Medicaid claims processor for “further recoupment” after an investigation was done in 2010 having to do with the use of addictive mental health drugs that were thought of as fraud and abuse. Could this be part of the reason that rehabs in Louisiana, Texas, and the rest of the country are so full of folks with prescription abuse problems?
Suehs stated: “Some of the providers in question have been forbidden to participate in the Texas Medicaid program, including one convicted in a criminal case and another accused of inappropriate billing and coding of hours related to patient services. The presence of this high rate may not necessarily be indicative of fraud or abuse on its own, though high prescription rates could indicate a problem.” It could also indicate that if you have a problem with prescription drug abuse, you may need to consider getting yourself help at one of the Texas drug rehabs.
Star-Telegram did an investigation of their own and used prescription numbers to identify the physicians who were involved and count their prescriptions total by drug type. The report stated: We also looked at other mental-health drugs that have cost taxpayers about $1.3 billion over five years. The analysis found that in two years, the 72 Medicaid providers identified by the state for writing the most prescriptions handed out 186,992 and that averaged out to 2,597 each.”
One physician in Houston wrote out 27,000 prescriptions for Xanax.
Antidepressants were prescribed on a large amount also. These drugs are dangerous even when they are not being over prescribed. They can lead to irritable, restless agitated and aggressive behavior and cause a person to do things that don’t make sense and are downright criminal.
The overprescribing of drugs is going on all over this country. In Texas they are doing something about it. It looks as though that would be an easy way to defraud the system. If you have elderly parents and their doctor is putting them on antidepressants and anti anxiety medications monitor the situation with your parents. You don’t want to see them end up in one of the prescription rehabs. It seems as though the elderly may be a target for those who want to make money.