Auditor General DePasquale to Audit Department of Health’s Management of Tobacco Settlement Funded CURE Research
First of several health care audits will look at five research facilities across PennsylvaniaAuditor General DePasquale to Audit Department of Health’s Management of Tobacco Settlement Funded CURE Research
First of several health care audits will look at five research facilities across Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH (March 3, 2014) -- Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said today that his department will audit the way the state Department of Health oversees nearly a billion dollars of tobacco settlement funds used by health research facilities across the state.
“These funds are intended to fuel health care research that could help people live longer, healthier and more rewarding lives. We have to make sure these research programs are meeting expectations so that nothing jeopardizes their vital mission or erodes public confidence,” DePasquale said. “We also need to make sure that Pennsylvania fosters an environment of innovation where we lead the effort to find cures and create the great jobs that go with it.”
The Department of Health is responsible for awarding and overseeing tobacco funds in the Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Program, known as CURE. The audit will examine if funds from a 1998 landmark tobacco settlement are being used as intended.
The examination will initially include a sampling of CURE grants to five research hospitals across the state:
- Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center affiliate)
- The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania affiliate)
- Geisinger Clinic, Danville (Geisinger Health System affiliate)
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center affiliate)
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Pennsylvania State University affiliate)
DePasquale said this is the first of several health care related audits he is planning in light of the increasing share health care costs impact the state’s budget.
“We need to make sure we are getting the best health care outcomes possible with such a large investment,” he said.
He wants to test CURE’s performance considering a recent arbitration ruling that could cut in half Pennsylvania’s $320 million annual share of the tobacco settlement funds. The state is appealing the ruling.
“Taxpayers can ill-afford to make up this enormous difference. The loss of funds will threaten finding cures for deadly diseases, like cancer and heart disease. When you cut funds, you reduce staff and scuttle research that may be the difference between life and death,” DePasquale said.
Over the past 12 years the Department of Health awarded $797.5 million in CURE grants, which supported 1,900 research projects at Pennsylvania-based universities, medical centers and research institutions. The research grants explored a range of health issues, including arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, infectious diseases and vision problems. The funds were also used to investigate issues like tobacco and substance abuse and to advance some of the newest biomedical research.
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