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Updated Sept. 2, 2008 – 9:47 p.m.
Grassley Seeks Information on Michelle Obama’s Hospital Job
By Richard Rubin and Joseph J. Schatz, CQ Staff
The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee is raising questions about Michelle Obama’s job at a Chicago hospital, using his oversight power on nonprofit institutions.
Charles E. Grassley , R-Iowa, on Tuesday released a letter he sent Aug. 29 to the chief executive of the University of Chicago Medical Center, where Obama, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama , worked as vice president of community and external relations until going on leave.
Without naming Obama, the letter asks for information on the hiring and selection process for her post and on how her compensation package, reported at $317,000 annually, was determined. The questions are among dozens Grassley addressed to Dr. James L. Madara regarding the medical center’s operations.
Grassley has been examining nonprofits and tax-exemption policies for several years, raising concerns about abuses.
Citing a newspaper report, Grassley said the center “appears to be culling the least profitable patients from its emergency room.” The Aug. 22 Washington Post article said Michelle Obama launched a program to send patients with non-urgent conditions to neighborhood clinics. The hospital provided some of the clinics with part-time medical personnel.
Grassley wants to hear back by the end of September. That would force the hospital to respond before the election, even though the 110th Congress is expected to be adjourned by that point.
In a statement, the center said “we have received Senator Grassley’s Aug. 29 letter and we are beginning the process of providing thoughtful and thorough answers to his questions. Much of the information he has requested is already a matter of public record and offers evidence of our vigorous pursuit and commitment to our patient care, education, research, and community missions.”
Grassley spokeswoman Jill Gerber said that the letter included Michelle Obama “only to the extent that she’s involved. But it’s not targeted at her. It’s targeted at the hospital.”
Durbin Weighs In
Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin , D-Ill., a close ally of Obama, strongly defended the hospital.
“The fact that Sen. Grassley is questioning the work of the University of Chicago Medical Center — especially those programs aimed at reducing emergency department overcrowding and promoting preventive health — is troubling and shows that he simply doesn’t understand the problems facing our hospitals today,” Durbin said in a statement. “Far too many of the 1.1 million people who live on Chicago’s South Side depend on the emergency room for their primary medical care, rather than getting the health care they truly need.”
He added: “Residents of the South Side have rates of diabetes, asthma, hypertension and other debilitating chronic conditions that are as much as five times higher than the rest of Illinois. UCMC is providing more than $64 million a year in charity and unreimbursed care and has received high marks from everyone from community groups to the Illinois Attorney General for their efforts. I am proud to have helped secure federal funds in support of that work.”
Michelle Obama has worked for the university or its medical center for nearly a decade. She took a pay cut when she started working part-time and is currently on unpaid leave.
Grassley’s letter is “not meant to be a political issue,” Gerber said, noting that he is “obviously very careful to be nonpartisan in his oversight work.” The letter was copied to Finance Chairman Max Baucus , D-Mont.
“Tax-exempt hospitals absolutely should be expected to provide charitable care, but many facilities can be overwhelmed by the call for such care, particularly when they serve local low-income populations that may be less healthy, Medicaid-dependent, or entirely uninsured,” Baucus said in a statement.
Questioning Connections
Grassley, a long-time critic of tax-exempt hospitals that he thinks do not adequately merit the tax advantage, referenced the Post article that detailed various connections among the Obamas, their friends and associates, and the hospital. The article, which discusses the hospital’s level of charity care and its use of the public-opinion firm of Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod, was “troubling” to Grassley, according to the letter.
The article cites a report from a bipartisan center noting that the hospital provided less charity care as a percentage of its expenses than other hospitals in the Chicago region and that it received five times as much in tax breaks than it provided in charity care.
Grassley is also seeking information about the employment of Axelrod’s firm, other Obama associates and the Urban Health Initiative spearheaded by Michelle Obama. That program aims to use community health centers to treat patients who might otherwise go to the emergency room and receive more expensive care.
Houston Hospital Targeted
Grassley also wrote to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, regarding billing of a leukemia patient that Grassley called “exorbitant.”
“The answers to the questions I’m asking are critical to understanding whether these hospitals are setting standards for their peers,” he said in a written statement. “Those standards might include losing sight of the public service that comes with tax-exempt status.”
Baucus linked the issue to broader issues facing the U.S. health care system.
“As more Americans struggle to get health care, and as hospitals are asked to serve communities increasingly in need, I intend for the Finance Committee to focus on the root causes of the huge spike in uncompensated care — the facts that 46 million Americans live without health insurance, and millions more don’t have sufficient coverage — and to seek universal health coverage that will allow every American to get the quality health care they need at the facility that’s best for them,” he said.
First posted Sept. 2, 2008 5:34 p.m.
Comments
This is one the most insidous attacks the Republicans have tried. For over 30 years hospitals have been working with Neighborhood Clinics to help deliver care to the high need high risk populations and reduce the uneccesary use of hospital emergency rooms. The Federal government has been supporting and encouraging this intiative since the early 70's as a more cost effective and more humane way of delivering much needed services to the low income and working poor populations as well as to rural areas. As a retired Exec. Dir. of such programs we were encouraged to contracted with the hospitals to provide physician and provider services to our clients. As for Michelle Obama's salary, perhaps Senator Grassley would do better to spend his time conducting a salary survey of similar size hospitals and he would find that this salary is in no way out of line for a CEO of a major teaching hospital.
"Grassley's letter is "not meant to be a political issue," Gerber said, noting that he is "obviously very careful to be nonpartisan in his oversight work." " Its insulting for Grassley and Gerber to think we would believe that this inquiry is not pure partisanship. The timing of the release (when Palin is being skewered by the press and public for everything from her unwed pregnant daughter to her membership to an Alaskan cessation party to the investigation of her firing/hiring based on her sister's personal life) and the timing of the expected response (before the election) clearly shows their true political intent. Get ready Democrats. Its only going to get nastier as they get more desperate.
Investigations are ongoing on both sides; so what's to worry about? I see no reason to get incensed about it. That's what life is in the blog and internet fishbowl of today. All cancidates "pay the price" so to speak.
Catherine needs to calm down. Michelle Obama was a VP not the CEO. Senator Grassley has been attacking non-for-profit hospital abuse for a long time. If Michelle earned the job on merit and is receiving a standard wage for the position, that will flush itself out. If she was hired based on political cronyism, I am sure Catherine would like to find that out.
Grassley is just another right-wing thug who is willing to see this country reduced to the level of a developing nation, so long as he and his type have the wherewithall to be part of the ruling aristocracy. Heaven help the rest of us when they finally declare the Constitution NULL and VOID, when their private army, Blackwater, takes over policing this country. Anyone for hemlock?
Since Senator Grassley has been attacking non-for-profits for along time how could he miss seriously attacking the biggest non-for profit disaster in this country. That would be the whole congress and executive branch of the federal government gross mismanagement of taxpayers dollars. How about FEMA-Katrina or Jack the Ripper Abramoff's open door policy in congress and at the white house, the list goes on and on. Blatant partisan attacks will not solve anything.
What I am reading is just another position placed because of who the individual is, the Dems and Republicans do this all the time so what is the big deal, a few people will fall and then the person doing the investigation will feel as if he/she has done his/her job. The Dems should feel bad about bringing up Mrs. Palins daughters pregnancy, that was totally out of line, I was an Obama supporter, I am now going to vote for Palin.
Rusty the GOP diehard, worshiper of St. Bush the liar, you fake Obama supporter, The official Democrats and the official campaign of Senator Obama had absolutely nothing to do with bringing up Palin's daughter pregnancy. Your self imposed ignorance and/or your FIX NEWS fed lies failed to acknowledge that it was the McCain Campaign and the Palins that brought up the unknown knowledge that Bristol Palin was currently five months pregnant. The best thing they could have done to squash the bloggers rumors, just like Obama did, show us all the public record birth certificate of Gov. Palin's baby boy. They wickedly, just for political purposes, with no remorse they threw the privacy of they teenage daughter under the speeding straight talk express bus. Talk about family values.
BOY, THE GOP IS DIRTY
Rusty, if you were a true supporter of Obama you would educate yourself on what's going on by researching information on your own instead of depending on the media for your answers. Palin is so out of touch with what's going on with US issues it's pathetic and yet you would vote for her because someone talked about her daughter? What does that have to do with anything. This happens everyday. I'm sure her friends have said worse. She doesn't know any of us personally! We are not voting for "Mother of the Year." If that's the case we don't have to go to Alaska to find anyone. We are talking about VP of the US.."one heartbeat away from being President." It's comments like yours that will have us in the "soup line." I want to hear what she's going to do assist in putting millions of families back in their homes while everyone is so focused on hers. Also, what she's going to do about assisting the families of those that were injured in Iraq. Did you know that troops serving abroad have given 6 times as much money to Obama's presidential campaign as they have to McCain's? I didn't get the info from the media. I researched it. 134 gave a total of $60, 642.00 to Obama while 26 gave a total of $10,665 to McCain thus far. 859 members of the military donated a total of $335,536 to Obama while McCain received a total of $280,513 from 558 military donors. Associated Press.
If Michelle Obama were a member of a political party that advocated Illinois seceding from the US, I wonder what the right wingers would say? Palin's husband is even more out-there than she is.
yes--rusty you are very well UNINFORMED! with the internet there is no reason to not fact check the canidates. the republicans tell any story, any lie they can because they know people will believe anything they say. if they said the sky was going to be purple on thursday, every follower of them would believe them. wise up !!! even mccain has stood away from bush and is pointing fingers at him. remember he voted with him 90% of the time. i fact checked that by the way.
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