Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor on Tuesday announced the release of tobacco settlement fund audits for 17 health care facilities, including UPMC Cole in Potter County.

“Our audits ensure hospitals have documentation to support the receipt of tobacco settlement funds before receiving reimbursement for uncompensated care,” DeFoor said.

Reached in 1998, the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement settled state lawsuits brought against tobacco companies to recover costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. Pennsylvania’s Tobacco Settlement Act (Act 77 of 2001) allocated some of the billions of dollars in settlement funds to reimburse hospitals for providing care to uninsured patients.

The audit reports are linked below or available online at www.PaAuditor.gov/audit-reports.

At UPMC Cole, five reported claims submitted by the facility qualified as extraordinary expense claims, meaning the facility could be eligible for payment under the settlement.

Only one of the claims was determined not to qualify. The others were as follows: $53,490.09; $48,677.47; $45,007.21; and $39,593.59.

“We are in the process of conducting engagements for all facilities that are potentially eligible for a 2023 Tobacco Settlement subsidy entitlement payment,” read the audit report. “After all the engagements are completed, we will prepare for DHS’ use a report detailing the results of all of our engagements.”