The Secretary of State Audits Division’s won the 2024 Excellence in Accountability Award from the National State Auditors Association for its audit of the role of pharmacy benefit managers in Oregon’s Medicaid program

The NSAA Excellence in Accountability Awards are highly competitive awards given to recognize outstanding performance audits, forensic reports, and special projects. Multiple performance audits and special projects from the Oregon Audits Division have previously been recognized with this award:

• in 2020, for our audit of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program;
• in 2019, for our audit of Oregon’s foster care system; and
• in 2018, for our auditor alert regarding ineligible Medicaid recipients.

“I’m extremely proud of the division’s work and pleased to see this recognition of excellence from our national peers,” said Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade. “This level of consistently exceptional work, as evidenced by the years of awards, helps build public trust in Oregon government.”

“This pharmacy benefit manager audit is just one in a long line of diligent audit work focused on Oregon’s Medicaid program,” said Audits Director Kip Memmott. “Medicaid is the largest and most costly government program in the state, serving more than one million Oregonians. That also makes it extremely high risk, which is why one Medicaid audit has appeared on every annual audit plan for the last eight years. The State has reaped enormous return on investment as a result of our Medicaid audit work to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.”

Members of the audit team and Audits Director Kip Memmott attended the NSAA annual conference in Boise, Idaho, last week to accept the award.

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National State Auditors Association (NSAA) President April Renfro and Audits Director Kip Memmott.

From left to right: April Renfro, NSAA President; Ian Green, Audit Manager; Kip Memmott, Audits Director; Kathy Davis, Senior Auditor; and Wendy Kam, Staff Auditor. (Not pictured: Staff Auditor Bentley Walker, who also contributed to the award-winning audit.)