Cue the Star Wars: Episode 1 music for what appears to be an epic showdown of … audits.
Many may have forgotten, but when that movie came out in 1999, the Duel of the Fates scene had everyone excited for an epic showdown. In spite of a few annoying characters, it was an enjoyable experience.
I can tell you with certainty that duels in the political realm are less so, but many of the outcomes have real effects on people’s lives.
For instance, questions over the performance of managed care contractors for the state’s Medicaid programs drew Attorney General Gentner Drummond to request an audit of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, an executive-level agency under Gov. Kevin Stitt’s control for the past seven-plus years. Drummond requested seven specific topics be examined, a possible ode to the “seven forms” of lightsaber combat.
“The record before my office establishes substantial cause to believe that the [OHCA] has failed to fulfill its oversight obligations regarding its contracted managed care organizations,” Drummond wrote to State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd on April 24. “Oklahoma’s second experiment with managed care Medicaid is failing to deliver on its promises. Providers are reducing staff. Patients are being denied essential care. Out-of-state corporations are controlling access to critical services without accountability, provider and patient complaints are increasing, and OHCA leadership highlights the MCO’s numbers to deny that these problems persist.”
A month later, Stitt sent Byrd his own letter Friday to request a special audit of the Attorney General’s Office, proclaiming that “financial records reveal that over the last three years the OAG has transformed from a traditional statewide law office into a much larger and bloated government agency.”
“Between FY 2023 and FY 2026, OAG legislative appropriations more than doubled, rising from $38.1 million to $90.5 million-making the OAG the second fastest growing agency in state government,” Stitt wrote. “The office’s overall budget grew even more sharply, rising from $43.2 million to $131.8 million, an increase of approximately 205%. Put differently, the OAG more than tripled its budget in just three years.”
Stitt also alleged that grant funding awarded to the Diversity Center of Oklahoma in OKC violated his executive order aimed at blocking the use of state funds for DEI-related programming.
Drummond fired back late Friday by saying Stitt has a history of “weaponizing audits” and that his office “has nothing to hide.”
“Over the last three years, the state Legislature has repeatedly seen fit to expand the responsibilities and budget of my office. That’s not an accident. They allocated additional authority over pharmacy benefit management enforcement and compliance and charged us with combating human trafficking. Why? Because this office gets results, and because someone has to clean up the messes left behind,” Drummond said. “In 2023, I stood up the Organized Crime Task Force specifically to address the illegal marijuana crisis — a crisis that took root and flourished under the governor’s watch. Since then, we have shut down more than 7,000 illegal operations across this state. The Legislature has responded to our performance by giving us more resources. The governor has responded by calling for an audit. Oklahomans can draw their own conclusions about what that says.”
As Drummond and Stitt — who have known each other for decades — duel through press releases and audit requests, I’ll be hoping Oklahoma’s next state auditor gets some rest and some of those additional legislative appropriations.
While Byrd received the audit requests from both men, much of the ultimate work will likely fall to Melissa Capps, the only person who filed for state auditor and inspector this April. Audits of major topics can take years to complete, and Capps — currently a deputy state auditor — will have plenty more on her plate come January, even if Byrd honors Stitt’s request and hires an “outside” auditor to examine Drummond’s office.
Come to think of it, a Star Wars marathon would be far more enjoyable than any of this.
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