Gov. Stitt names OHCA interim director

A day after Governor Kevin Stitt named Aaron Morris as the interim director of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced that his office has opened an investigation into OHCA's handling of alleged fraud, waste, and abuse within the state's Medicaid managed care program.

In a press release issued from the attorney general's office Thursday, July 16, Drummond said this new investigation follows recent revelations that OHCA leadership "hand-picked by Stitt" failed to report a large-scale, foreign-based enrollment fraud scheme.

"Medicaid exists to protect Oklahoma's most vulnerable residents, not to become a target for international fraud rings," said Drummond. "When my office is not notified in a timely manner that thousands of fraudulent accounts were opened inside our state's Medicaid program by foreign actors, that's not a paperwork failure. It's a breakdown in OHCA administration." Drummond said that under federal regulation, the state contract can either require Medicaid managed care entities (MCEs) to report suspected fraud to OHCA's Program Integrity Unit or to the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).

"Gov. Stitt and OHCA chose to have suspected fraud reported first to OHCA with the option for them to refer cases to the Attorney General's office, potentially resulting in countless cases going uninvestigated," said Drummond in the release.

"Gov. Stitt's administration and his leadership team at OHCA failed, sending only two of MCFU's 168 fraud referrals in Fiscal Year 2025. Of the 509 fraud referrals received by MFCU during FYs 2022-2024, only 11 originated from OHCA." Governor Stitt announced Aaron Morris as the next interim director of OHCA Wednesday, July 15, saying "Morris brings with him more than 20 years of financial expertise in the public sector." The announcement came after the current director, Clay Bullard, notified the office that he will be returning to the private sector. Stitt said Bullard will provide leadership transition support over the coming weeks.

"Clay arrived at the agency at a pivotal time, and his private sector experience was invaluable," said Gov. Stitt. "I am grateful for his service, and I wish him the best as he returns to the private sector." In 2024, Stitt named Morris as the state's chief financial officer. Prior to that, Morris served as OHCA's CFO, where he was responsible for financial strategy and management. He also oversaw the agency's technology and program integrity functions.

"Aaron has proved to be a steady leader through any challenge," said Stitt. "As CFO of the State, he has worked carefully to protect our state's savings, navigate complicated budget issues, and assist agencies to increase accountability and transparency. He is a trusted member of my team, and I am grateful that he has agreed to step into the role at OHCA for the remainder of my term." Morris earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Central Oklahoma and an MBA from Cameron University.

"It is a privilege to continue serving my state, and I am grateful for the Governor's confidence in me," said Morris. "I look forward to returning to OHCA and to working to address the budgetary and regulatory issues that face the agency." Drummond responded to Bullard's resignation Wednesday: "Clay Bullard's resignation comes after a tenure marked by the same Stitt administration failures my office repeatedly had to confront. Oklahomans were promised managed care would lower costs and improve care. Instead, they got denied claims, delayed payments, and a governor more interested in defending out-of-state insurance corporations than the people he serves.

"Under Gov. Stitt's leadership, OHCA failed to hold its managed care organizations accountable. The agency has failed to audit whether providers serving some of our most vulnerable citizens were paid on time, has failed to scrutinize claims that don't reflect Oklahoma values, and has failed to audit the MCOs for fraudulent enrollment. OHCA's own Program Integrity Unit, which by federal design should be a primary source of fraud referrals, accounted for just 1% of the referrals received by my office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit last year, only two out of 168. Combined with the agency's budget failures, these are exactly the deficiencies I asked the State Auditor to examine.

"Accountability at OHCA has been a fight this office has had to force, which is not what Oklahomans want or deserve. The agency owes Oklahomans real transparency, and I'll continue to hold it to that standard." The following day, July 16, Drummond announced the new investigation into OHCA, saying his office "learned that a criminal group believed to originate from a foreign country exploited weaknesses in OHCA's eligibility process during open enrollment," potentially allowing thousands of fraudulent Medicaid enrollments into the program. All three of the state's managed care entities are reportedly affected.

"My office has continuously called on OHCA to review its controls, increase referrals, inform my office about unclean claims or fraudulent activity," Drummond said.

Drummond said none of this suspicious activity had been reported to his office by OHCA.

According to Drummond, his office has issued numerous warnings to OHCA leadership, most recently in a March 26 letter where Drummond pressed the authority on persistent provider complaints about payment delays and claims denials, writing that "if unclean claims or fraud are contributing to these failures, identify them and act. But inaction - for any reason - is reckless and unconscionable." Drummond said OHCA's April 10 response detailed claims-processing and prior authorization statistics, but did not address fraud.

"OHCA was armed with all the tools they needed to fight fraud. Instead, it stayed silent while thousands of suspected fraudulent Medicaid enrollments went unreported," said Drummond. "Oklahomans expect their Medicaid dollars to protect vulnerable patients, not to fund an organized fraud operation that nobody at OHCA thought to bring to the attention of law enforcement." Drummond said this investigation builds on his April request for an audit of OHCA through the Office of the State Auditor and Inspector.

Oklahomans who received a Medicaid enrollment packet they did not request may have had their identity used as part of this scheme, said Drummond.

"Individuals who believe they were affected are encouraged to submit an online Medicaid Enrollment Fraud Report.

Reporting does not mean a person is under investigation. The reports help the Attorney General's office identify victims and gather more information."