Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) and Congressman Colin Allred (TX-32) led a letter with 8 of their colleagues in the Texas Democratic Delegation to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan urging an investigation  allegations of deceptive and unfair trade practices in connection with Medicaid eligibility determinations in Texas.

“Since April 2023, when the moratorium on Medicaid disenrollments ended, approximately 1.8 million people have lost Medicaid coverage in Texas.  According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC’s) own data, almost 1.2 million of these individuals lost their coverage for procedural reasons, not because they were ineligible for coverage,” the letter reads.  “More than 800,000 of those who lost coverage are children.  These numbers are staggering.  Texas’ Medicaid disenrollment rate is the highest in the country: 61 percent.”

“HHSC has admitted that, in the first few months of the redetermination process, system errors led to the denial of Medicaid coverage for 90,000 individuals and 24,000 children” the letter continues.  “While these individuals have had their coverage restored, it appears these overarching systemic errors have not been addressed.  In an August 2023 letter to HHSC Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young, a group of whistleblowers in the agency familiar with the TIERS software reported that the system had more than 20 active problems that caused or could cause disruptions in coverage.

“Recently, a group of consumer advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting an investigation into Deloitte on the grounds that its software, the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS), does not reliably conduct automatic renewals, a critical tool allowing families to renew their coverage easily during the unwinding period,” the letter continues.  “The complaint alleges that Deloitte’s software has presented inaccurate deadlines, sent termination notices stating required documents had not been submitted when they had been, or sent erroneous notices of ineligibility—all of which they allege constitute deceptive practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act.  The complaint also alleges that Deloitte’s TIERS system making inaccurate eligibility determinations and the failure to correct these errors is likely to cause harm to consumers.  Losing coverage can impact a person’s health or contribute to financial loss—all of which the complaint alleges constitute substantial injuries.”

Congresswoman Fletcher and Congressman Allred led the letter, which the following members of Congress joined: Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Congressman Al Green (TX-09), Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), and Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33).

Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country.  In 2021, Congresswoman Fletcher’s bill, the Expand Medicaid Now Act was signed into law.  The bill incentivizes states to expand Medicaid by increasing the amount of federal funding to any new expansion state.  Since the bill was enacted into law, four states—Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Dakota—have expanded their Medicaid programs.

In January 2023, Congresswoman Fletcher led a letter with Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09), Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL-14), Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33), and Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10) urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to open a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program beneficiaries.  A few days later, following their letter, the Biden administration announced a SEP to protect families from losing health insurance.

To read the full text of the letter, click here.