Get Ready to Hear All About Rick Santorum and Universal Health Services

Red State ^ | December 31, 2011 | Erick Erickson

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The media is about to begin the vetting of Rick Santorum and I suspect we’re going to hear a lot about Universal Health Services (“UHS”). Santorum’s involvement in UHS is one of the significant bits of his private sector experience.

After his 18 point loss in 2006, UHS appointed Rick Santorum to its Board of Directors.

On May 16, 2007, Santorum acquired 10,000 options to purchase Class B common stock. On November 21, 2009, he received another option for 5,000. In 2010, it was options for 15,000 shares and another 15,000 as recently as January 21, 2011, as Santorum begin to entertain thoughts of running for President.

On June 15, 2011, Santorum resigned from the board of UHS.

Here’s why the media will be interested.

On March 2, 2010, nearly three years after Santorum was appointed to the UHS board of directors, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint against UHS for billing Medicaid for “inpatient psychiatric care that was not provided.” The company received Medicaid funds to provide psychiatric counseling and treatment to boys ages 11 to 17.

According to the Department of Justice, UHS “[took] advantage of troubled children in order to feed their own desire for wealth.”

On July 29, 2010, an employee of the same Virginia adolescent psychiatric facility that was sued by DOJ filed suit against UHS for reprisal against her due to her “investigation of, reporting of, opposition to and refusal to participate in, her employer?s blatant and systemic criminal fraud against Medicaid engaged in by defendants[.]” See Barbara Jones v. Universal Health Services, Inc.

According to Barbara Jones, the whistleblower who brought suit against UHS, local company management encouraged employees to conduct “drive by therapy sessions” as they passed patients in the hallway and then record the brief interactions as a thirty minute individual therapy sessions to be billed to Medicaid. Jones also testified in her court filings that she was ordered by the local CEO to fabricate a Medicaid billing form and was told, after she refused to do so, that she would not be paid until the form was fabricated.

UHS tried to have the complaint dismissed not because of the veracity of the changes, but because it claimed Barbara Jones wasn’t an employee of UHS and therefore was not protected under a whistle blower statute.

Santorum possibly did not know about any of this, but in 2007 the federal government filed a lawsuit against UHS for Medicaid fraud going back all the way to 2004 — or well before Santorum was on the board. It’s kind of hard to claim complete ignorance of federal charges against a company on whose board he sat for over four years.

This is going to be an interesting vetting process, done even more rapidly than the vetting of Mike Huckabee back in 2008, if only because the media probably correctly thinks Santorum doesn’t have the staying power Huck had, so they want to get it all done quickly.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Rick Santorum says Arlen Specter is an important member of the Bush team [:37]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Rick Perry on Congressional Insider Trading [:24]

******************

Nov. 13, 2011: “Pelosi fires back at ‘60 Minutes’ report on ‘soft corruption’”

“Pelosi and her husband participated in an initial public offering of Visa in 2008, according to CBS. They bought 5,000 shares at the initial price of $44; two days later, shares were trading at $64, CBS said.”.......... Source

Pelosi Bashes Catholics: 'They Have This Conscience Thing'... “After having some of her behind the scenes shenanigans exposed, Nancy Pelosi has turned to her friends in the MSM to help her with damage control. The effect is something akin to watching what scrambles out after you overturn a large rock.

Pelosi sought to defend herself from allegations that she and her husband made millions from insider trading in what the Washington Post calls a wide ranging interview……..

……Pelosi added a startling, if inadvertent, admission. Addressing the effects such [ObamaCare] legislation would have on Catholic health care providers, Pelosi said:

"I'm a devout Catholic and I honor my faith and love it . . . but they have this conscience thing."…….

[Darkwolf377]

Egads, that’s one ugly pic of Pelosi, and that’s sayin’ something.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Two claim Gingrich lobbied in ’03

[Cincinatus' Wife]

It’s pure Pelosi.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Video of Rick Santorum eagerly defending earmarks on FOX News program in 2009

[Cincinatus' Wife]

WATERLOO, Iowa – Texas Gov. Rick Perry demanded former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, whom he dubbed a “prolific earmarker” yesterday, explain his support of earmarks for pet projects, including a teapot museum and an indoor rainforest.

“Senator Santorum, just to get a little more specific here, please tell me why you asked taxpayers to support the bridge to nowhere in Alaska. Why did you ask the taxpayers of Iowa to support a teapot museum in North Carolina, an indoor rainforest in Iowa, and the mountain sheep institute, Montana sheep institute? Why were those important enough for you to vote for?” Perry said to more than 100 people crowded into two rooms at Doughy Joey’s Peetza- Joint.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/12/perry-demands-santorum-explain-earmarks-for-teapot-museum-indoor-rainforest/

[NavVet]

Really, this is the worst that they have. That Santorium had a board position (Read meet once a quarter for a couple of hours to rubber stamp management decisions)on a company that was being sued by the government. Of course, our Current President was employed by an openly criminal organization (ACORN) and that’s not a disqualifier. But the fact that Santorium had a largely cerimonial position at a company that also employed some doctor or clerk somewhere that may or may not have billed medicare improperly at some time in the past makes him unfit for office.

Putting up with this double standard is why every conservative gets thrown under the bus, while the media users the unelectable RINO’s like Romney to the front of the line.

[9YearLurker]

Santorum appears to be a piker in crony capitalism compared to Perry or the cash-in-on-political-influence business compared to Newt, but yes, this stinks.

The only reason companies put former pols on their boards is for shielding from government shakedowns or demands, at best, and corruption at worst—as appears to be the case here.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

“If you look at the Constitution, the Constitution gives the power of the purse to Congress; the Congress is the one that’s supposed to spend the money,” Santorum said on Fox News. “So the idea that earmarks is somehow against the Constitution or something that is illicit, that the congressman can or shouldn’t do is simply, factually incorrect.”

He was pressed as to whether the practice should still be encouraged, even if it weren’t illegal, because of the public’s perception that earmarking contributes to corruption in Washington.

“I’ve defended my earmarks in the sense that I’m proud of the money that I did set aside for things that were priorities in my state instead of having bureaucrats do that,” Santorum said. “But I’ve recognized that the American public have sort of seen this as a pox upon the congress and that’s where the American public is today and as a president, it’s sort of easy for me to say I’ll oppose congressional earmarks.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2826467/posts

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The case for Perry’s venture capitalismThere’s a big difference between the Texas and statist approaches - There has been a lot of debate about Gov. Rick Perry’s economic development funds. The criticism centers on the idea that the Texan’s funds create a “Solyndra problem” for him, that by investing in businesses that bring jobs to the state, Mr. Perry has the same job-creation approach President Obama displayed in backing federal loans to a solar-energy firm.

Equating the two men in this way provides a convenient symmetry, but it’s also a false comparison that misses why many free marketers are comfortable with Gov. Perry even while critical of Solyndra.”……

[Yaelle]

And you think getting out in front of slamming Santorum will help your guy, Perry?

[Lib-Lickers 2]

you know what,, the media is pushing Santorum in Iowa.. it means zippo people.. they want to dilute the Gingrich vote where it really matters to defeat Romney.. in SC.. Iowa means nothing anymore.. SC is the first real primary that will pick the next nominee

[Saundra Duffy]

I like Rick Santorum.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

....But the fact that Santorium had a largely cerimonial position at a company ....

"On May 16, 2007, Santorum acquired 10,000 options to purchase Class B common stock. On November 21, 2009, he received another option for 5,000. In 2010, it was options for 15,000 shares and another 15,000 as recently as January 21, 2011, as Santorum begin to entertain thoughts of running for President. "

[9YearLurker]

Free marketers that are comfortable with Perry’s approach likely were donating to his campaigns—and had investments in the companies he was pouring taxpayer cash into.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Give me your facts.

[9YearLurker]

You’ve seen the articles. Perry has used Texas startup funding in the same way that Obama has used green startup funding—to reward donors.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Show me your facts.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You can start here