(CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann responded Wednesday to a report by NBC that the mental health clinic run by her husband has collected annual Medicaid payments totaling over $137,000, while she has criticized the program for swelling the "welfare rolls."
"Medicaid is a valuable form of insurance for many Americans and it would be discriminatory not to accept Medicaid as a form of payment," Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart told CNN. "As a state-sponsored counseling service, Bachmann and Associates has a responsibility to provide Medicaid and medical assistance, regardless of a patients financial situation."
According to the NBC Report:
"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 clinic, based in Lake Elmo, Minn., describes itself on its website as offering "quality Christian counseling" for a large number of mental health problems ranging from "anger management" to addictions and eating disorders."
It is outrageous that her husband's clinic accepted these payments and then she is saying that Medicaid is bad. Although her spokesperson said otherwise. Medicaid is needed, although maybe America should not pay as much per person. Under the Obama plan the payment is less and the coverage better spread.
"Medicaid is a valuable form of insurance for many Americans and it would be discriminatory not to accept Medicaid as a form of payment," Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart told CNN. "As a state-sponsored counseling service, Bachmann and Associates has a responsibility to provide Medicaid and medical assistance, regardless of a patients financial situation."
Translation: When my company receives funds from Medicaid, that's GOOD, but when the poor and elderly and especially people who would never be able to stomach voting for me receive funds from Medicaid, that's very bad.
2 faced......turn away the clients and tell them we dont accept your kind.
Like most republican hypocrites, Michele is merely exercising her 'show me the money,' side. She is opposed to federal subsidies, yet she willingly takes them.
This shows that Michelle can't get facts straight it also shows hers and her husbands hypocrisy.
Government spending for her family = GOOD
Government spendng for the needy to buy food for their babies = BAD
HYPOCRIT - Food is needed more than the fake mental health your husband tends (if he's so good, why are YOU still a flake)?
So now, Mrs. Bachmann backtracks and issues a totally different statement. Which one is the real Michelle Bachmann? They are both crazy.
Her popularity in the republican party is because of her , "I got mine, screw the rest of you," appeal to her tea bagger base.
OOOHhh! Got it – so you're against Medicaid when it benefits other people, just not when it benefits you. Yep, that's the sort of hypocrisy I've come to expect from the Teapublicans. Just like our good ol' Joe Miller, and $arah Pay-me...
I just love the "christian counseling" bit too. Let me guess – "repent and your problems will be healed, or else burn in Hades". Something to that effect?
Just as Bachmann fought to keep giving subsidies to farmers in her district, you can't honestly believe that she will vote against her families financial interest. However, she's just that nuts that she just might.
Keep digging , you will find out more about this Hypocrit Bachmann
thank goodness its all coming to a head before November.
she will not answer a direct question , her answer is usally BARACK OBAMA this , that and everything else, but not the cash she collects on things she wants to oppse. hiding don't get you far Michelle, eventually you will be found.
So she is a coward and won't say ef you to their face when they seek health care, but is willing to let them die in their home where no one will see them.
She must be a Christian.
NBC News has shown their true colors yet again. I want to see a report on Obamas Tzars, what they do, how many hours they put forth towards their roll, and how much they get paid. I want a report that watchdogs all the members of Congress and what they pay their staff and what their expenses are. NBC – Nothing But Commentary
Somerhing is seriously wrong when medicade payments fare made for "quality Christian counseling," regradless of exactly what the conselling of for. Smells like a scam and maybe medicade fraud!!!
With so many in need of real mental illness medicines and real care, it just is not right that the Government is paying this clinic anything to just counsel folks ... more likely to counsel peoples wayward, unchristian-like children. Sounds scary. I would like to learn more.
Typical......she like so many other Rar right followers aren't against goverment money, they are against anybody but them getting goverment money. All the little pigs are lined up waiting to feed at the goverment hog trough.
This is BEYOND ridiculous. They took the money period. End of story. No amount of lies is going to cover it up. Why is it so hard to admit the truth? This is one of the reasons republicans will lose in 2012. The American people are not stupid and we are tired of being treated this way. This issue alone will put her candidacy out to pasture. Good bye Michele Bachmann. So long.
Isn't the bigger problem, Ms. Bachman & her husband, getting paid, by the Federal Government no less, for "quality Christian counseling".
Said more clearly, she got over $130,000 to attempt to bring people closer to Christ. I'm a Christian and I find that to be a clear violation of principle of separating church & state and of their being no state sanctioned religion.
If the GOP wants to restrict Federal funding for abortions, we damn sure ought to restrict Federal funding for proselytizing. Jews, Muslims, the line for religious handouts forms to the right.
Michele Bachmann would be wise to let her spokeswoman Alice Stewart do all her talking. Bachmann is afflicted with terminal "foot in mouth" disease. I think she caught it from Sarah Palin or maybe Newt Gingrich (you remember him don't you?).
"I'm shocked! There's gambling going on around here" A GOP taking govrnment money? Whoa, what's the world coming to. Guess she couldn't figure a way to steal it.
How does he "provide Medicaid"?
Hogwash. First Ms. Bachman said it was a one time payment, then she said the money was used to train staff, now her camp is saying they do not turn down a form of medicaid payments for people who use it that are finanically unable to afford the services. They are bouncing all around the question of why are you taking government medicaid payments, when in the next breath she is trying to cut government spending for medicaid. Such a hypocrit. Gotta love these rethugs/tea partiers. I wish they would quit telling lies all of the time. I do not believe anything they say. Yes you guessed it, Not one of them will ever get my vote.
What the heck is "quality Christian counseling"? I hope they aren't using Government funding to evangalize his patients. Besides, we already know he's incompetent. If he were any good at all, his wife wouldn't be totally bat-guano crazy.
This is the most entertaining field of candidates I have ever seen. They could fill up the entire psychiatric wing at Bellevue. Just glad I'm not a GOPer or TPer, cause then I would be really embarrassed.
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."
hmmmmmmm........
"The clinic, based in Lake Elmo, Minn., describes itself on its website as offering quality Christian counseling..."Remember how much money Christ raked in healing the sick? Man, that guy must have been loaded!
This is just another example of a 'Christian Capitalist'. An oxymoron for the ages.
oh yeah, and she didn't collect any income from that Wisconsin farm, either!