Drummond calls pending state employee insurance hike wrong, easily avoidable
OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 6, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond is calling today's pending HealthChoice premium increases a crisis years in the making and entirely avoidable. HealthChoice is Oklahoma's self-funded health insurance plan, administered by the Employees Group Insurance Division (EGID) and covering more than 180,000 state, education and local government employees, retirees and their families.
At a meeting today, the Oklahoma Employees Insurance and Benefits Board (OEIBB) recommended premium increases of 18.9% for HealthChoice Basic, 15.8% for HealthChoice High and an average increase of 19.5% for the HealthChoice High Deductible Plan. The board's recommendation must still be reviewed by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority's chief executive before going to the OMES director for final approval.
“This is a hard hit, and it didn't have to happen this way," Drummond said. “For years, Gov. Stitt chose to hold HealthChoice rates artificially flat rather than confront the plan's finances head-on. That decision wasn't fiscal discipline. He simply kicked the can down the road, and now the teachers, troopers, caseworkers and other public servants who rely on HealthChoice are the ones paying for it.”
“Based on the information my office has at hand, EGID staff and the board appear to have done their jobs,” Drummond said. “They warned the Stitt administration about what would happen. Those warnings were ignored, and now HealthChoice members and Oklahoma taxpayers are being asked to pay the price.”
The increase carries a particular sting for Oklahoma teachers. State law requires the teacher Flexible Benefit Allowance to rise alongside the cost of employee-only HealthChoice High coverage, so much of that portion of the increase is offset. But the allowance does not adjust for the cost of covering a spouse or children, meaning a teacher who insures a family could see roughly $1,572 to $2,716 in new annual premium costs with no additional help from the state. For many educators, that could consume most or all of this year's $2,000 increase to the minimum salary schedule.
“Affordable health coverage has long been one of the few real perks of public service in Oklahoma, given how far teacher and state employee salaries lag behind the private sector,” Drummond said. “Capable leaders anticipate challenges and deal with them head-on. Instead of phasing in modest, manageable increases over time, our state employees are being forced to absorb a drastic hike all at once. That's wrong, and it was easily avoidable.”
“Freezing rates year after year may have made for good headlines at the time, but it did nothing to change the underlying cost of care – it only delayed the reckoning. Now that bill has come due, the burden is falling on our dedicated public servants and their families. Our teachers and state employees show up for Oklahoma every day. They deserve leadership that shows up for them, too.”
