We don't know whether the Michele Bachmann's ex-gay clinic was sucking at the federal teet specifically for its "cure the gays" quackery, but it's disturbing that a "clinic" promoting such junk science is receiving any federal money at all. From NBC:
While Rep. Michele 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.Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade got a non-answer from the administration on this:
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.
A White House spokesperson deferred a response to comment further from the Washington Blade to the Department of Health & Human Services. The department, in turn, deferred comment to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.So states are allowed to give Medicaid money to, oh I don't know, witch doctors if they so choose?
“States make the determination about which services to cover, within federal law and guidelines,” Brian Cook, a Medicaid spokesperson, told the Blade. “State law and regulations govern the licensing of counselors and the scope of their practice.”
