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| | What About Tom?
By Robert Warne - April 22, 2003Don’t feel sorry for Tom Calderon. Even though he didn’t win the insurance commissioner post, while an Assembly member he made sure in a variety of ways that he wouldn’t be living on food stamps.
One such way, the author of AB 749 pulls a paycheck is as a consultant to a chain of outpatient clinics run by West Coast Surgery Center Management (WCSCM).
At a time when out of control medical costs plague the workers’ compensation system, his bill that went into effect Jan.1, shields outpatient clinics from fee restrictions.
His connection to WCSCM definitely dates back to the post 749 era.
Aside from receiving close to $100,000 in campaign donations in 2001 and 2002 from state surgery centers, he received $35,000 from WCSCM Feb. 19, 2002, the day his bill was certified by the secretary of state.
SB 71, the precursor to AB 749, which was shot down in 2001 contained fee caps for surgery centers. But after 749 went through an editorial massage, Calderon made the caps magically disappear before the legislation passed.
Pacific Hospital, an operator of eight surgery centers and owned by WCSCM is one of Calderon’s consulting business’s main clients.
Whatever kind of a deal he struck with the clinics, it must be pretty sweet because his consulting business address and phone number are the same as WCSCM in Long Beach according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
His consulting business, which generates $10,000 to $100,000, must just provide him enough gas money to supplement his $99,000-a-year appointment as a member of the California Medical Assistance Commission.
It’s unclear if Calderon is being paid a consulting fee as a gift for his medical fee increase legislation or for his knowledgeable services. But one thing is clear, insurance commissioner would have set him back four years from earning the big bucks as a shrewd Sacramento insider.
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