More on Blagojevich

Posted by Mark Todd Engler in Certificates of Need (CON), Health Care, Illinois, Medicaid on Dec 9th, 2008 | no responses

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The Chicago Daily Herald elaborates on allegations by U.S. prosecutors that the Illinois governor tried shaking down Chicago Children's Memorial Hospital.

(According to the criminal complaint) Blagojevich sought to rescind $8 million in state funds awarded to the hospital because hospital CEO Patrick Magoon did not contribute $50,000 to the governor's campaign war chest. Court papers say Blagojevich discussed taking the money back with an unnamed "deputy governor" Oct. 8.

Hospital officials said the $8 million is intended to help cover payments to "pediatric sub-specialists for the costs of providing much-needed services to children covered by Medicaid." Those physicians are paid about 33 cents on every dollar for the cost of their services by Medicaid, hospital officials said.

"Children's Memorial is very disappointed that the $8 million in Illinois funding that the pediatric providers of Illinois believed would enable them to care for Illinois' neediest children has been tied to an alleged pay-to-play scheme," read the statement from the hospital. "If such allegations are true, Children's Memorial, pediatric physicians and the children of Illinois have been victimized."

The story also quotes another hospital CEO, Pam Davis, who in 2004 helped the FBI nab an Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board member trying to solicit bribes in exchange for state certificate-of-need permit approvals.

"It's absolutely astounding that the governor and his cronies allegedly continued unrepentantly to shakedown hospitals more than four years after Stuart Levine and others attempted to extort me and Edward Hospital," a statement from Davis read. "It's equally appalling that public and regulatory officials entrusted with overseeing the regulation of important issues, such as health care, have abused that trust."