Bachmann's husband got $137,000 in Medicaid funds

NBC ^ | Tuesday June 28, 2011 | Michael Isikoff

[Bigtigermike]

While Rep. Michele Bachmann has forcefully denounced the Medicaid program for swelling the "welfare rolls," the mental health clinic run by her husband has been collecting annual Medicaid payments totaling over $137,000 for the treatment of patients since 2005, according to new figures obtained by NBC News.

The previously unreported payments are on top of the $24,000 in federal and state funds that Bachmann & Associates, the clinic founded by Marcus Bachmann, a clinical therapist, received in recent years under a state grant to train its employees, state records show. The figures were provided to NBC News in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The $161,000 in payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to her husband's clinic appear to contradict some of Michelle Bachmann's public accounts this week when she was first asked about the extent to which her family has benefited from government aid. Contacted this afternoon, Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Bachmann, said the congresswoman was doing campaign events and was not immediately available for comment.

[...]

When asked by anchor Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" about the story's assertion that her husband's counseling clinic had also gotten federal and state funds, Bachmann replied that it was "one-time training money that came from the federal government. And it certainly didn't help our clinic."

At another point, she said, "My husband and I did not get the money," adding that it was "mental health training money that went to the employees."

But state records show that Bachmann & Associates has been collecting payments under the Minnesota's Medicaid program every year for the past six years. Karen Smigielski, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the state's Medicaid program is funded "about 50-50" with federal and state monies.

[denydenydeny]

Leftists have rabbit-ears for hypocrisy because their daily lives are made up almost entirely of hypocritical actions.

[detective]

Is this supposed to be a big deal? Her husband didn't get free taxpayer money. He was paid for services rendered.

His patients were eligible for Medicaid, so BFD. If he had refused to serve those eligible for Medicaid then people would have had a hissy fit over that.

This is ridiculous. The article doesn't say anything illegal was done. It is just a stupid hit piece.

[bwc2221]

Any conservative can expect to be “Palanized.” But as several FReepers have already stated, the media has thrown everything it has at Sarah Palin and it hasn't been nearly enough.

Will Michele Bachmann be able to stand up to the media onslaught, be able to keep smiling and come out squeaky clean as Sarah has? Only time will tell.

[winner3000]

Using the same logic in the article, there should be a story every day about different Democrat politicians who want to raise taxes, about why they have not offered to pay more than they owe in taxes to the government.

[P-Marlowe]

Bachmann's problem is that she LIES about these kinds of things, when there is no need to.

Inasmuch as the MSM has declared their intention to destroy Bachmann, I am not going to participate in any smear job against her.

I will be giving her every benefit of the doubt. She deserves no less.

[nopardons]

She lied about these payments; she said that it was only a one time thing, which went to pay for "training".

Bachmann has also lied about the family farm, of which she and her husband own a part of, but which she keeps claiming is her f-i-l's.

Telling the truth would be better and easy to then brush off the "hypocrite" cry, should it come to that. Lying, OTOH, just make her look really bad, when the facts come out.

[doc1019]

Palin has been part of the vetting process for years, nothing found ... Just sayin’

[Tamatoa]

So what, nothing here. He is following the current rules and getting compensated for his service. Move along nothing to see or talk about.

[winner3000]

I’m sure Michael “I suck off” considers himself a journalist.

[winner3000]

I’m sure Michael “I suck off” considers himself a journalist.

[fabian]

I think also while Bachmann is a bright lady, she lacks the charisma factor that we are going to need to beat the communist in the Whitehouse.

[eyedigress]

No it isn’t. Her husband took medicare patients and was paid medicare funds. Show me the lie.

[Vendome]

137,000 over the course of 6 years amounts to $22,833 per year.

That ain’t squat on a multimillion dollar business.

They say it was for training employees? Fine.

It is mental health and they may have requirements under the law to provide some sort of service or can be expected to provide some sort of service.

Under that scenario I say the government is making a demand that requires the training of employees and the government should absolutely be responsible for remuneration of monies spent to comply with their demand.

[parksstp]

Probably not, because in addition to the MSM, Bachmann’s going to have to deal with the BDS Palin Supporters set out to destroy anyone that stands in the way of Palin’s coronation to the GOP nomination.

This piece wasn’t posted here to show how pitiful the MSM can be with their attacks. It was posted to continue the inference that Bachmann is a liar who cannot be trusted because she supposedly gave conflicting answers to the facts.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Big deal. So he treated patients on Medicaid and took government money for his services.

[cookcounty]

"The $161,000 in payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to her husband's clinic appear to contradict some of Michelle Bachmann's public accounts this week when she was first asked about the extent to which her family has benefited from government aid."

So doing business with the government is now "government aid???????" Reporters get stupider every day,

So when Obama was getting paid by government-funded ACORN was he on "government aid?" Was he a welfare queen? Was he on "government aid" when he was a paid spectator in the Senate?

[BatGuano]

No scandal here...merely NBC weighing in on a potential (R) candidate. NBC sucks, when will all understand that the network is carrying the water for the Progressives/Communists. Note that the total money involved here is about a quarter of what the cost of a trip to California by Pelousy. Desperate no just business as usual. PS have the fees been questioned or is it merely the recipient?

[old curmudgeon]

I too am a big Sarah Palin fan.

However, I would suggest to you that you cease throwing everyone else under the bus with the dream that Sarah Palin will run, will win and will be our next president.

We don’t even know at this time that she will run.

[Texas Songwriter]

Mr. Bachman is a provider for medicare. Are we to expect him not to be paid for his services. Of course, of the $137,000 he was paid, I wonder how much of that went to pay payroll of his employees, FICA, medicare taxes, overhead for his office,(offices?), or any of the myriad of expenses which he must pay to keep his door open to provide services to medicare patients. Perhaps the left believes he should opt out out of that program.

[nopardons]

The MSM attacks ALL Conservatives....especially the female and black ones.

OTOH, Bachmann keeps lying and you can't say, "oh well, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt" about that, when telling the truth is not just easier, but far more easy to defend.