By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s Medicaid payment error rate is well below the national average, according to the agency that administers the program.
Oklahoma’s “improper payment rate” for Medicaid, also known as SoonerCare, was 0.15% in 2025 compared to the national average of 6.12%, according to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.
The state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program also has a low payment error rate at 0.88% in comparison to the national average of 7.05%, according to a news release.
The payment error rates of the two programs are evaluated every three years. Oklahoma was among the states with the lowest rates in both the 2022 and 2025 reviews, according to a news release.
“Oklahomans expect every taxpayer dollar to be spent the right way, and we hold ourselves to that standard,” said Aaron Morris, interim CEO of the Health Care Authority, in a statement. “We are continuously enhancing our tools to ensure Medicaid dollars are preserved and available to fund services for Oklahomans in need.”
In 2022 Oklahoma’s Medicaid program had not yet made the switch to managed care, but overall, the state’s Medicaid error rate was 1.95%, the second lowest rate in the nation. The improper payment rate for the Children’s Health Insurance Program was just over 2%.
In the three years since the last review, the agency worked on “rigorous staff quality control and enhanced data integrity,” said Rebecca Sheppard, a spokesperson for the Health Care Authority.
The Health Care Authority is “continually adapting its strategy” to combat fraud through firewalls, automated application screenings and data validation exchanges with partners like Equifax, according to a news release.
“OHCA’s broader plan to protect program integrity combines strict provider credentialing and revalidations of high-risk providers with targeted post-payment audits that verify medical necessity and proper documentation,” according to a news release.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond in April requested an audit of the Health Care Authority, specifically how it oversees managed care organizations.
Oklahoma is also facing a deadline to lower its error rate for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or face higher costs to the state to administer the program following the passage of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill last year.
The state’s error rate, which is not always a result of fraud, is just over 11% as of July, but must drop below 6% to be compliant with federal requirements.
The Department of Human Services did not immediately provide an updated error rate.
