Center for Open Government: UofL Health provides details on how $35 million taxpayer-backed loan was spent

It was generally understood when University of Louisville officials were lobbying for a $35 million taxpayer-backed loan to purchase Jewish Hospital and other Kentucky One assets, the funds were made available to manage potential cash flow challenges with the acquisition.

Apparently those challenges didn’t materialize, resulting in UofL Health directing the state funds to capital purchases. An accounting of those expenditures was provided as part of UofL Health’s October report to the interim joint Budget Review Subcommittee on Human Resources.

The largest outlay was $13.49 million to upgrade the IT systems at seven facilities. Another $1.2 million was spent on hardware for the same locations, presumably to support the new IT systems. A complete list of the items purchased with the taxpayer funds is included at the bottom of this post.

The Bluegrass Institute opposed the KEDFA loan, arguing that UofL Health, a billion-dollar health care organization, was capable of securing private sector financing to handle the acquisition. Documents obtained by the Center for Open Government through Kentucky’s open records statutes provide evidence to support that argument. (Link , link and link)

One interesting and potentially positive note in UofL Health’s recent presentation to the General Assembly was the third bullet point in this slide:

Accelerated repayment of the loan would make a strong impression with taxpayers, especially if UofL Health agreed to repay the entire $35 million. We’re not counting on it but would be the first to applaud the University’s leadership if they decide to take that bold step.

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UofL Health KEDFA Loan Expenditures