This morning, TAPS Public Transit and its operating unit TAPS Access was notified by the State of Texas Health and Human Services Commission that it has withdrawn its contract for TAPS to provide Medicaid Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in Region 4, which includes Archer, Baylor, Clay, Collin, Cooke, Cottle, Fannin, Foard, Grayson, Hardeman, Jack, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise, Young counties. All calls from clients to schedule non-emergency Medicaid trips are being rerouted to other providers and it is expected that there will be no interruption in service for Medicaid clients. The cancellation of the contract means 59 employees, including drivers and call center agents, have been permanently laid off as of 10 a.m. this morning. HHSC officials said any contract monies due to TAPS for the most recent month of service will be used to pay any outstanding debts related to performance of Medicaid services. That includes but may not be limited to, subcontractors, independent transportation providers and employees. Concurrently, the Office of Inspector General and HHSC are conducting an investigation to determine if there has been fraud in the conduct of the Medicaid contract by TAPS.