Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Bachmann's hubby got Medicaid payout
By Sarah Muller
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Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:12 PM EDT

Tonight, some breaking news on our show. NBC News National Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff is reporting Michele Bachmann’s husband got $137,00 in Medicaid funds. Here’s an excerpt from his story:

While Rep. Michelle 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.

http://thelastword.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/28/6968455-bachmanns-hubby-got-medicaid-payout

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.

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.

Bachmann has previously slammed Minnesota's governor for trying to expand Medicaid coverage even as her husband's clinic was taking it in. Her family's actions seem to contradict her words, which could become a headache for her on the White House campaign trail.