AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Texas lawmakers and patient advocacy groups are calling for accountability after revelations that an insurance company hired private investigators to gather information on customers, including vulnerable patients and state lawmakers. Superior HealthPlan, a company funded by the state to manage healthcare for sick and disabled children through programs like STAR Kids, faces scrutiny after emails surfaced indicating its use of surveillance tactics on both lawmakers and their clients.
The controversy prompted an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, launched the day after a tense legislative hearing at the Texas State Capitol. During the March 26 session, members of the House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency (DOGE) confronted Superior HealthPlan’s CEO, Mark Sanders, over the practice, which they argue violated ethical boundaries.
Committee Chairman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) shared the troubling emails, revealing that Superior had hired private investigators to dig into the backgrounds of lawmakers and clients.
“Why would you run background checks and hire investigators to track down and access the personal records of people who are your customers?” Capriglione asked Sanders during the hearing.
In response, Sanders acknowledged that the practice had been discontinued years ago, claiming that the company only sought publicly available information and nothing beyond that.
“First of all, I will say we no longer use that practice, and haven’t for several years,” Sanders said. “At the time, we just wanted to gather information on those individuals, and really, nothing more than what was publicly available to us.”
However, the controversy deepened the following day when Centene, the parent company of Superior HealthPlan, announced Sanders had left the company.
During a subsequent interview on State of Texas, Capriglione was joined by Hannah Mehta, the founder of Protect TX Fragile Kids, a group that advocates for families of medically fragile children. Capriglione emphasized that Superior’s use of taxpayer dollars to fund private investigators is a breach of public trust.
“Superior was funded almost entirely with taxpayer dollars,” Capriglione said. “They used those funds to hire private investigators to secretly follow journalists, customers, and lawmakers. I was made aware of these emails, which led to the discovery of even more concerning behavior, and we made that public during our committee hearing.”
Mehta echoed concerns from families of children who depend on the state’s STAR Kids program for critical care. “This is horrifying and alarming for families who are literally fighting to keep their children alive,” Mehta said. “In this case, Linda Badawo was one of those mothers fighting for her foster child to receive necessary care for his tracheostomy, and now this company is targeting people just trying to access life-saving treatments.”
During the hearing, Sanders confirmed that he had authorized the use of private investigators to gather information on patients. For Mehta, hearing this admission in a public forum was unsettling. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” she stated. “This is a disturbing pattern of behavior. Texans deserve better. Patients deserve better. No one should be targeted for seeking care for their loved ones.”
Capriglione also called for increased transparency in the system, especially regarding state-funded healthcare contracts. “We need to ensure that taxpayers and lawmakers have full access to how our dollars are being spent,” he said, referencing several bills in progress aimed at increasing transparency, including HB 111.
When asked about the potential future of Superior HealthPlan following the investigation, Capriglione remained cautious but hopeful. “I’m glad Attorney General Paxton is investigating. A company that operates like this likely has other unethical practices, and it’s time for the state to consider terminating its contracts with Superior and requiring all healthcare providers to adhere to strict ethical guidelines.”
In a statement issued after the hearing, Centene acknowledged the seriousness of the situation. “We recognize that rebuilding trust requires more than words. Following the hearing, we launched an internal investigation to ensure our current practices align with our core values and ethical standards,” the statement read. “The research in question was conducted through publicly available resources and was limited to desk-based research. While this practice was inappropriate, it occurred before 2019 and does not reflect the values of our current leadership.”
Centene also clarified that no illegal actions took place, stating, “We have found no evidence of any legal violations, and no individual was ever followed or photographed. Suggestions of blackmail or leveraging the information gathered are completely false.”
As the investigation continues, both lawmakers and patient advocates are calling for swift action to ensure that state-funded healthcare providers act with greater transparency and accountability, especially when it comes to vulnerable populations relying on essential services.
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