Leaders Celebrate 25th Anniversary of the Health Care Cash Fund

State, University of Nebraska, UNMC and community leaders gathered in the Nebraska Capitol in Lincoln on Jan. 9 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Health Care Cash Fund, created when the state legislature decided to use federal tobacco settlement money on efforts to improve the health of Nebraskans, including through biomedical research.

Amanda McGill Johnson, executive director of Nebraska Cures, emceed the event. Speaker of the Legislature Sen. John Arch and Sen. Brad von Gillern, supporters of the funding, also spoke.

McGill Johnson thanked the late Sen. Dennis Byars for introducing the bill creating the fund in 2001 and shepherding it to passage.

“There is a strong coalition that celebrates these 25 years of comprehensive health care investments,” she said. “The research that my organization champions is just one of the many beneficiaries of the Health Care Cash Fund.” She pointed to the University of Nebraska, Creighton University, Boys Town and other entities the funds have supported.

Speaker Arch noted that in 2001, there was an opportunity to use the funds in many ways, but the state elected to use the money “to improve health care.”

“I applaud the legislature administration at that time for setting up the funds for this purpose,” he said. “A lot of good work has gone on through the years.”

Sen. Von Gillern spoke about the return on investment the state has seen on the funds, noting that he had met several medical researchers who had been recruited to Nebraska with the support of these funds.

“That's a return on investment that is really meaningful to me, that is attracting strong people to Nebraska and making sure that they stay here, stemming the brain drain,” he said.

UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research Ken Bayles, PhD, called the 25-year-old decision to allocate the funds to health care research one of the most impactful decisions in the state legislature‘s history.

“We were one of the few states that actually used the money in this way. It has paid for itself multiple times in terms of the research dollars that are generated by the researchers that have been recruited to Nebraska through the support of this funding,” he said.

The Health Care Cash Fund strengthens Nebraska’s position as a leader in biomedical research and has enabled the University of Nebraska to recruit and invest in research talent that has helped grow its research portfolio, elevate its research programs and invest in graduate students and postdocs across all four campuses. As a result, the University of Nebraska has developed internationally recognized programs focused on addressing diseases that significantly affect Nebraskans.

UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, thanked the legislators who, 25 years ago, had the “the vision and foresight” to create the Health Care Cash Fund.

“That foresight has allowed UNMC to become a world-class academic center,” he said. “We've been able to leverage that funding to recruit elite researchers and to build cutting-edge research programs. This has been fundamental to the success that we've had as a research engine, as a world-class research enterprise.”

Sara Myers, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for research and creativity activity, celebrated the positive impact of the fund has had at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).

“As a UNO alumna and a biomechanics researcher, I’ve seen firsthand how the Health Care Cash Fund has helped transform lives in Omaha and across Nebraska,” Myers said. “This funding has been an incredible opportunity and a profound responsibility to stay on the cutting edge and deliver results that truly improve quality of life. It’s deeply meaningful to be part of an institution that uses this support to invest in people, ideas, and research that make a real difference for our communities.”