Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 1589 amends the Government Code to require the comptroller to conduct its study to determine the number and type of fraudulent claims for medical or health care benefits submitted under certain state programs in consultation with the office of the state auditor. When reporting the results of the study to each agency that administers a program, the comptroller must indicate whether the level of fraud in each program has increased, decreased, or remained constant since the last report. The act requires a state agency administering one of the programs to provide information relating to the comptroller's study in a format agreed to by the comptroller and the agency to permit examination of both patient and health care provider histories to identify unusual or suspicious claims.

            The act authorizes the comptroller or, at the request of the comptroller, a state agency that administers one of the programs, to make telephone contact with a person identified as receiving services for which benefits are provided under one of the programs to confirm the delivery of services to the person. The agency must establish performance measures to be used to evaluate its fraud control procedures.