Briefs

Emergency process set up to provide for Louisiana evacuees with Medicaid
HHSC’s Texas Vendor Drug Program and Texas Medicaid pharmacies are helping Louisiana Medicaid clients displaced by Hurricane Isaac. Louisiana Medicaid has established an emergency enrollment process, allowing out-of-state providers, to process claims through Louisiana Medicaid. This process will allow Louisiana evacuees who have Medicaid and are now in Texas get essential medications.

Louisiana Medicaid is waiving the requirement for step 3 of the emergency enrollment process, which would ordinarily require a Texas pharmacy to include a disaster-related claim for services provided to a Louisiana Medicaid client. 

For fastest service, Louisiana Medicaid is encouraging Texas pharmacies to fax the completed enrollment packets to 225-216-6392.

Dental services should come through main dentist
Texans with Medicaid or CHIP dental coverage should now be getting their dental services through their main dentist. That’s the dentist the family picked or was assigned to when they enrolled in their Medicaid or CHIP managed care plan.

As of March 1, all children enrolled in CHIP and most children enrolled in Medicaid began receiving their dental services through one of three managed care dental plans: Delta Dental, DentaQuest or MCNA Dental. In managed care, members are required to get their dental services from the dentist they’ve selected – their main dentist. Some members who did not pick a main dentist from their plan’s network were assigned to one.

Those who want to change their main dentist can do so at any time by calling their dental plan.

Office of the Ombudsman ready to help
HHSC’s Office of the Ombudsman helps people resolve complaints and issues related to Texas health and human services when the normal complaint process doesn’t achieve that goal. If you have a problem or complaint about a state agency health and human service or program that is not resolved to your satisfaction, there are four ways you can submit a question or file a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, including through an online form. Visit the Complaint Process page of the Office of the Ombudsman website. 

Meetings, public hearings, workshops and events
Keep up with policy developments and discussions of interest at HHSC by viewing the Public Meetings page of the HHSC website.