(AP) — The Nebraska attorney general’s Medicaid fraud unit says it recovered more than $13.5 million last year.

The office of Attorney General Jon Bruning announced Tuesday that the unit has recovered more than $77 million since the unit was created in 2004. The recovered money reimburses the Medicaid program for losses, and can be applied to legal fees for specific cases. The cases often involve service providers and drug companies that violate Medicaid rules.

Bruning promised the Legislature in 2004 that the program would pay for itself within three years. The money recovered annually surpassed the program’s operating budget in 2006.