State lawmakers approve $125 million UK HealthCare contract amid spending scrutiny
Kentucky lawmakers voted Tuesday to approve a $125 million consulting contract for University of Kentucky HealthCare amid scrutiny the state’s flagship university has faced over spending by its executives, including for a healthcare subsidiary.
Craig Collins, the chief financial officer for UK HealthCare, told lawmakers in Frankfort its $125 million contract through 2028 with the consulting company Deloitte was a continuation of previous contracts to expand the use of online record management software to hospitals the healthcare system had taken over.
Collins described Deloitte as an “implementation partner” that brings skills that the university’s information technology staff doesn’t have to ensure the connectivity of the system and security of patient records. He told the Government Contract Review Commit the university faced past cybersecurity attacks, and the university has spent about $91 million on Deloitte’s services through April.
“This is to try to bring in that protection for those new entities and also for our existing entities,” Collins said.
UK HealthCare has expanded its healthcare presence in recent years including taking over the Ashland-based former King’s Daughters Medical Center in 2022, now operating as UK King’s Daughters.
The contract approval comes amid scrutiny the university is facing over spending by executives including to attend overseas meetings in London and the Cayman Islands for a subsidiary of UK HealthCare. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Tuesday top administrators at the university have spent nearly $270,000 on travel including those overseas trips, but the university has refused to release details about what was specifically paid for.
Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, said he wondered “why we go to outside entities to do consulting for academic people who are always telling us that our universities stand out.”
“I think there may be some room for conversation to be had between some of our teaching institutions and some of our legislative institutions about how do we best serve the people of the commonwealth, and how do we best make sure that the tax dollars are being utilized to their maximal amount,” Douglas said.