Texas health officials are overhaully designed to remove people from abortion. Propublica and CBS news check It was found that the state had made a funny of millions of taxpayers in the attempt, providing little monitoring of the expenditure.
This money is flowing in a network of non -profit organizations that are part of the rich Texas families, a state program that supports parenting and adoption as an alternative to abortion and provides consultation, material support and other services. Most group crisis serve as pregnancy centers, or pregnancy resource centers, often similar to medical clinics, but are often criticized for offering less or no real health care and allegedly misleading women about their options.
In its 20 -year existence, the program’s funding has become chillsfold – this sept started from 1 to $ 100 million per year – it is the most heavier funded attempt of its kind in the country.
Then under the new rules prescribed to be effective, organizations in the program will now have to document all their expenses, and they will be reimbursed only for the costs bound by the state approved services. And when they re -prepare the donated items, they cannot seek reimbursement, trying to stop the taxpayer from going to organizations to free the money.
Meanwhile, Texas is opening the administration of the program Competitive selection process Instead of automatically renewing agreements with contractors, including a contractor, which oversees most programs for almost two decades.
Change addresses were exposed a year ago by failures Propublica/CBS News InvestigationAs the rich Texas families currently operate, most providers are paid a flat rate for each service that they claim to provide, even if regardless of the actual cost of that service. Consequently, a single customer travel can generate several stacked fees, leading to an increase in the amount of public funds. In some cases, providers are given separate bills for each item or service – such as diapers, baby clothes, blankets, wipes, snacks and even educational pamphlets – according to records reviewed by Poplis and CBS News.
That system has allowed organizations to bill more than services, which are actually more than costs to provide – and to keep the difference. A group, sealed pregnancy resource center, some reimbursement banking and quintpoplipped its property in three years. Its executive director, Petricia Penner accepted the practice, his goal was “to ensure that we have enough for this center and enough to continue for years to come.”
Penner said, “We have no guarantee that the funds we have received is going to be enough to maintain the center,” and it is my duty as a director to ensure that whatever service funds we are receiving, we can ensure that we can take care of these young women, when they come to the door. ,
Two other, the McLene Pregnancy Center and Pregnancy Center of the coastal turn in Corpus Christie, used reimbursement for real estate deals with Texas families. McClen Center, which receives almost all revenue from the state, Bought a building It had previously placed an abortion clinic. Coastal bend center Accepted using state funds To buy land for a new feature. Centers did not answer questions from Propublica.
In San Antonio, the affluent Texas families deducted funds for a pregnancy center, known as a new life for a new generation, a local news outlet reported that it was reported that it was reported Taxpayer spent on holidaysOn a motorcycle and to fund a smoke shop business owned by its president and CEO. The Center did not respond to the request of the comment.
Propublica and CBS News also found that the state health officials had no visibility as to whether services are being distributed or whether they need the most. In many cases, the state reimbursed $ 14 to providers when the centers handed over the donated goods or materials, whether their cost or how they got them.
This included planting pamphlets on parenting, fetal development and adoption, which could trigger the same reimbursement as providing tangible assistance such as diapers or formulas. The state could not say how much was spent on these materials because it did not track what was being distributed.
The state reviewed by a probalika reporter includes inaccuracy in the approved pamphlets and lessons-as a fetal heartbeat begins 21 days after conception-and single motherhood was depicted as risky and lonely, with better options with marriage or adoption.
While flat-rate reimbursement is sometimes used in government contracts, non-profit and accounting experts stated that apply it to the distribution of donated goods-without clear standards for a virtue or value, without clear standards.
State Health and Human Services Commission officials, who oversee the families of Texas families, did not reveal what the policy change was motivated, only that it was following guidance from the state controller. This guidance recommends providing state grants as reimbursement for real expenses.
The state has long allowed its main contractor, Texas Pregnancy Care Network to handle most of the program’s inspection. The network had told news organizations last year that the state funds were once passed to the subcontinent, “It is no longer a taxpayer’s money” and those groups were free to spend it because they saw fit. The HHSC pushed back against the network, saying that it is still considered as a taxpayer dollar and is expected to be used to suit the state guidelines.
The change in the cost-by-opinion model appears to bring the program more to conform to the program that the public money is usually distributed to state agencies in Texas.
The Texas Care Network, which has achieved the funding of about 75% of the Taxas families in recent years and distributes it to dozens of crisis pregnancy centers, trust-based groups and other charitables that serve as subcontinent, do not answer questions about how it is planned to be compatible with new contracts or strict rival rules.
State rape. Donna Howard, a democrats of Austin and an outspoken critic of the state support for anti-miscarriage programs, said in an interview that when she opposes taxpayer support for anti-abortion programs, she sees new rules as a step in the right direction.
But with the new reimbursement requirements in the place, Howard questioned whether many centers would be able to use funding. Unlike the previous flat-fee system, providers will now have to track cost, document services and submit receipts to justify their expenses. “Who knows that they can really use money that they have to show the receipts,” he said.
Pregnancy centers are required to track customers’ income, education level and employment – and to provide information about the public benefits available to the customers – the state is going away from a system that allows non -profit organizations to collect funds without any help.
Pregnancy resource centers and anti-abortion activists advocated Republican MPs to block policy change during the most recent legislative session, and some publicly condemned it.
On social media platform X, rape. Jeff Leach, a Republican of the Northern Dallas suburbs urged the agency that “” Vito Power “on the program” Vito Power “on the program” Not Not Not Give Power “. Litch did not respond to the requests of the comment.
In an interview, Texas Right to Life President John Sego warned that the new reimbursement model would discourage participation. He said that it was “not worthy of small providers coming to the program because of all the red tapes.”
And in written testimony, Penner, from Silly, contained MLAs Protect the current modelSaying that his team allowed to focus on serving our customers instead of staffing to handle the paperwork required for reimbursement.
Despite the pushback, MPs did not take action to block the new rules.
Gay Bai, a professor at accounting and health policy at the University of Johns Hopkins, said that switching on a cost-reform system can help prevent waste, to ensure that organizations only cost what they actually spend.
But he warned that this model has its own risks. Since providers know that they will be reimbursed, they may not be careful about keeping the cost low – or can also increase their expenses to get more money. He pointed to Medicare, which used a similar system in the past, but left it after spiral out of control.
To avoid the same problem, he said, the program will require strong public inspection to ensure that the organizations are not overspeeding just because they know that the state will cover the bill.
A reproductive health policy specialist, who has closely tracked the expenses of Texas at Crisis pregnancy centers, warns that improvement greatly reduces the state’s social security trap to address wide gaps.
“You can actually not make people with educational services, pamphlets and diapers for the lack of Medicade Health Insurance for the very poor in Texas,” said Laura Dixon, the researcher resigned for reproductive health located in Austin.
But very at least, he said, “Understanding where the money is going, is a really good first step for this program.”
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