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Attorney General Drummond seeks $6 million supplement, cites $46M returned from PBM work
Summary
Attorney General Drummond told the appropriations committee he needs a $6 million supplemental for FY26 (and the same annualized for FY27) — $5 million for extraordinary litigation and $1 million to sustain a pharmacy benefit management unit that he says returned $46 million to the state.
Attorney General Drummond asked the legislative appropriations committee for a $6 million supplemental in fiscal year 2026 — $5 million for extraordinary litigation and $1 million to expand the Attorney General's pharmacy benefit management (PBM) unit — and said both should be annualized in FY27.
Drummond closed his presentation by arguing the office's PBM unit has produced concrete financial returns and operational reforms. "After standing up the PBM unit and diving into the misbehavior and mass misappropriations by CVS, we have returned 46,000,000 into the coffers of Oklahoma," he said, adding that the unit had also announced a separate $5,100,000 settlement for pharmacies paid below the actual cost of dispensed medications.
Those figures formed the backbone of Drummond's request, which he framed as an investment that pays for itself: "For the 1,600,000 that we spend annually on this unit, we have produced a return on investment over 3000%." He said the additional $1 million would allow the unit to shift from reactive recoupments to proactive analytics, compliance monitoring and early identification of unlawful pricing and recoupment practices.
Beyond PBMs, Drummond asked for funding to defend state law and pursue multi-jurisdiction enforcement. He referenced ongoing litigation and coalition work that, he said, defends state sovereignty and state statutes (including a reference to House Bill 4156) in multi-state and federal suits. He also reviewed organized-crime and retail-crime enforcement results, telling lawmakers his office's task force had reduced the number of illegal marijuana grow facilities and pursued cross-border criminal crews.
Committee members pressed him on details: representatives asked how the "by the numbers" slides compared to other states and prior years, whether Medicaid fraud recoveries skew typical recovery expectations, and for specifics on the PBM calculations. Drummond said the PBM work had uncovered inappropriate withholdings by CVS Caremark and prevented unlawful recoupments by OptumRx, and he described the unit's investigative and legal work as manpower- and data-intensive.
The committee did not take a vote. Members said they would review the packet of materials and follow up with the Attorney General's office as the budget process continues.
