Texas Health and Human Services Commission

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This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

Texas Health and Human Services Commission was the agency responsible for Texas' state Medicaid program, and thus the agency that expended public funds to treat smoking-induced illness in Texas.

Description

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is the state agency charged with the responsibility for the State Medicaid Program. In this capacity, HHSC's Medicaid office oversees the policies and programs carried out by various Medicaid operating agencies, including the Texas Department of Health and the Texas Department of Human Services.

The Texas State Medicaid office has information relating to Medicaid programs and policies, the Medicaid budget, and Medicaid expenditures for tobacco-related health care costs. This commission was created in 1991 to administer a state wide, comprehensive, effective, efficient and integrated health and human service delivery system, and pairing it with state agencies, local communities, and other organizations. The primary goal of the Health and Human Services Commission is to facilitate and enforce the coordinated delivery of health and human services in a manner that uses an integrated system to determine client eligibility; maximize the use of federal, state and local funds; and emphasize coordination, flexibility and decision-making at the local level. The commission has oversight responsibilities for the following state agencies:

• Department on Aging
• Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse
• Commission for the Blind
• Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention Services
• Department of Health; Department of Human Services
• Juvenile Probation Commission
• Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
• Department of Projective and Regulatory Services
• Rehabilitation Commission

The Commission serves as a single state agency designated to oversee and administer the state's Medicaid program, and servew as a liaison to the federal government. Medicaid-related responsibilities of the HHSC and its state Medicaid office include: serving as the primary point of contact with the federal government; establishing agreements with other state agencies to carry out the technical operations and service delivery for the Medicaid program; overseeing Medicaid policies, rules, and operations carried out by the Medicaid operating agencies; overseeing and monitoring the Medicaid budget; evaluating and monitoring Medicaid programs; administering the Medicaid State Plan; initiating and coordinating opportunities to maximize federal funding; and facilitating the Medical Care Advisory Committee, and advisory committee required by federal regulations. (Fiscal Size-Up 1996-1997 Biennium Texas State Service, LBB)

Contact

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission
P.O. Box 13247
Austin, Texas, 78711-3247
Phone (512)424-6500

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