Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on July 27, 2009

Michelle Malkin's newest book: 'Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies'

Exposé-arama… I’ve been following and reporting on this story for months, as have many of my conservative blogger comrades and conservative radio talk hosts, which is more than I can say about the “close our eyes and it will go away” spineless journalists at NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and PBS. Malkin’s book (lovingly called “non-fiction political horror” by funny-man conservative pundit Doug Powers), has skyrocketed on Amazon.

Because of respected journalist/blogger Michelle Malkin’s brand-new investigative book about the Obama administration, Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies, (from the revelations presented in Chapter 2, to be precise) Republicans are starting to look into Michelle Obama’s ‘patient dumping’” while she had a six-figure job at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

From Hot Air: Open thread: Michelle launches “Culture of Corruption” on Hannity; Update: Video added

Malkin wrote an in-depth piece last month on this despicable patient-dumping topic: The Obamacare horror story you won’t hear

A portion from today’s post from The Prowler, The American Spectator: Profiling Obama:

MICHELLE’S DUMPING DESIGNS
Republicans on Capitol Hill are taking a fresh look at one of the seedier Chicago stories from Barack and Michelle Obama’s past in ratcheting up the debate on Obamacare: the University of Chicago Hospital’s “Urban Health Initiative,” which Michelle Obama ran prior to her taking a leave of absence to campaign with her husband in 2007.

Because of the medical center’s location on the South Side of Chicago, a large number of indigent patients, without health insurance, were using the hospital’s emergency room for care. The nonprofit hospital, which in 2007 made more than $100 million in profits, largely because its beds and facilities were used by paying patients and those fully insured, paid Mrs. Obama to oversee the Urban Health Initiative program that identified indigent patients and then steered them to other area medical facilities. In fact, some of those profits came from Canadian citizens who traveled to the U.S. for medical procedures they could not get due to Canada’s restrictive national health care programs.

It wasn’t just Obama’s wife who was involved in creating the program. Senior White House adviser and political strategist, David Axelrod, and his PR firm in Chicago were retained to develop a media campaign to encourage area residents not to use University of Chicago as a medical facility. Senior White House official, and Obama friend, Valerie Jarrett served on the board of directors of the hospital and approved the plan for the Urban Health Initiative, and the hiring of Axelrod. And on the recommendation of then Senator Obama, Dr. Eric Whitaker, was named director of the Initiative in late 2007, after serving as the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, a job he got after Obama recommended him to then Gov. Rod Blagojevich via another Obama crony, Tony Rezko, a fund-raiser for Obama and now a convicted felon on federal corruption charges.

The truth is slowly coming out…

From the Chicago Sun-Times, published in 2008:

Chicago Sun-Times: U. of C. shunning poor patients?
HOSPITAL DISPUTE | Obama’s wife, 3 aides tied to plan to free up space
By Tim Novak and Chris Fusco
August 23, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama’s wife and three close advisers have been involved with a program at the University of Chicago Medical Center that steers patients who don’t have private insurance — primarily poor, black people — to other health care facilities.

Michelle Obama — currently on unpaid leave from her $317,000-a-year job as a vice president of the prestigious hospital — helped create the program, which aims to find neighborhood doctors for low-income people who were flooding the emergency room for basic treatment. Hospital officials say such patients hinder their ability to focus on more critically ill patients in need of specialized care, such as cancer treatment and organ transplants.

Obama’s top political strategist, David Axelrod, co-owns the firm, ASK Public Strategies, that was hired by the hospital last year to sell the program — called the Urban Health Initiative — to the community as a better alternative for poor patients. Obama’s wife and Valerie Jarrett, an Obama friend and adviser who chairs the medical center’s board, backed the Axelrod firm’s hiring, hospital officials said.

Another Obama adviser and close friend, Dr. Eric Whitaker, took over the Urban Health Initiative when he was hired at U. of C. in October 2007. Whitaker previously had been director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Obama has said he recommended Whitaker for the state job, giving his name to Tony Rezko, who helped Gov. Blagojevich assemble his Cabinet. Rezko, a former fund-raiser for Obama and Blagojevich, was convicted in June on federal corruption charges tied to state deals.

Medical center officials and Obama’s presidential campaign staff say the Urban Health Initiative — along with a three-year-old companion program called the South Side Health Collaborative — will dramatically improve health care for thousands of South Side residents. They say that, rather than having to wait hours at U. of C.’s emergency room, those patients get seen sooner and at less expense at neighborhood clinics and other hospitals. U. of C. even offers them a ride on a shuttle bus to other centers and sometimes provides the doctors at those facilities.

“Senator Obama sees community health centers as a vital part of efforts to invest in prevention and reduce costs,” said Ben LaBolt, an Obama spokesman.

But the Urban Health Initiative has critics, including South Side residents and medical professionals.

“I’ve heard complaints from a handful of constituents, but I’ve also had calls from people in the health care profession complaining,” said Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, whose 4th Ward is just north of the hospital. “The medical professionals who have come to me are accusing the university of dumping patients on its neighboring institutions. … Whether it’s being implemented in the way that’s in the best interest of the patient, I can’t tell you.”

Sen. John McCain, Obama’s Republican opponent, criticized the Democratic presidential hopeful Friday for having pledged on the campaign trail to expand health care for Americans at the same time his top political strategist “was running a campaign to cut coverage for the poor.”

Axelrod, whose firm stopped working on the project in October, responded that he was concerned that presidential politics was distorting the university’s efforts to improve health care for poor people and to lower costs.

Additional reading:
Hot Air: Video: Michelle [Malkin] talks health care, the economy, and Gatesgate on “This Week” and Video: Did Michelle Obama start a patient-dumping program? and Culture of corruption: Michelle and Glenn Beck on Obama’s “remaking of America” and Oh my: Health care, amnesty, climate change bills all suddenly in trouble and Dems retreating on healthcare and Lieberman opposes public plan in ObamaCare and Government insurance will kill private insurance and Video: ObamaCare an “Old Joke”; Update: Cost now $1.6 trillion and White House throws Kennedy under the bus? and Obama: Let’s work together to destroy American health care by year’s end and Video: Are the elderly cost effective?
Radio Vice Online: Symptom of the Disease: Axelrod still getting paid by Obama’s marketing firm
American Thinker: Back to ACORN General Hospital and Michelle Obama’s Patient-Dumping Scheme
Chi*Town Daily News: Rush calls for investigation at U of C for patient dumping allegations and Activists blast U of C on charity care
NEOAVATARA: Obama and Democrats: Defenders of the Status Quo
Clinging to G & G: Michelle’s patient dumping scheme
Fire Andrea Mitchell!: Michelle Obama, Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Susan Sher and their roles played in the University of Chicago Medical Center patient dumping scheme
Jim Blazsik: Precursor to Obamacare? Did Michelle Obama start a patient-dumping program?
Patterico’s Pontifications: Dialing 911 for Obamacare
Riehl World View: Buh Bye Liberal Health Care Plan?
The World According to Lawgirl: Michelle Obama’s Patient-Dumping Scheme
Michael Tanner, National Review Online: The Obamacare to Come, Dems’ health-care plans do not provide the reform most Americans seek
GOP Counter Culture: Let’s have a Michelle-off
Desert Conservative: SCARE STORY Obama PROMOTES
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Michelle Obama: “Patient Dumping” While at University of Chicago Medical Center
Smart Girl Nation: Popular Ranking Unfairly Misrepresents the U.S. Health Care System
Michelle Malkin: Snort: Axelrod to lecture on “Integrity in Public Service” and Axelrod’s profits: Uh, who’s on the take from the drug lobby again?!?! and E-mails of the day and What the NYT’s 8,100-word Valerie Jarrett profile didn’t tell you and Ghoulish science + Obamacare = health hazard and Calling her what she is
PunditPawn: The Angry Obama’s Patient-Dumping Scheme
The Other McCain: America’s Biggest Problem? Too many Orientals on TV!
Vets On The Watch: Coming To A Healthcare Facility Near You
Boston.com: Grim proving ground for Obama’s housing policy
Goodtimepolitics: The White House Admits Americans Will Be Forced Out of Their Current Health Care Plans
New York Times: For Public, Obama Didn’t Fill in Health Blanks
Gunservatively!: The Dems Game Plan: Distraction, Distraction, Distraction
Obama Lies: Learn about the Lies of the Obama Administration
Gateway Pundit: Ouch! Sen. Judd Gregg Tells Geithner His Budget Forecast Is a Lie and Ouch Again!… Sen. Judd Gregg Delivers GOP Weekly Radio Address – Slams Obama Spending and Busted!… Democrats Fudge Petition Numbers
The Lonely Conservative: What do you get when you cross a liberal elitist with a hospital administrator? Poor patient dumping!
Gadget’s Blog: Not just Obamacare, but MICHELLE Obamacare
Ranting of mine: Reasons to Reject Socialized Medical Care
Founding Bloggers: Horrific Health Care Headlines From UK – Our Socialized Medical Future!
John Saarikko, Universal Health Care Info: The Truth Nobody Wants You To Know
PunditPawn: The Angry Obama’s Patient-Dumping Scheme
Stop The ACLU: Even Obama’s Doctor is Against it… (video)

Categories: Government, Health, Law & Constitution, Media & Communication
Tags: Barack Obama, conservative, David Axelrod, government-run health care, health care, health care reform, Illinois, Michelle Malkin, Michelle Obama, ObamaCare, political, politics, Pres. Obama, universal health care, University of Chicago Medical Center, Valerie Jarrett