INTERNACIONAL
Maine GOP hopeful vying for Trump endorsement previously ran birthing clinics catering to migrant women
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Jonathan Bush, a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Maine who has been vying for President Donald Trump’s endorsement ahead of this week’s June 9 primary, previously ran a network of birthing clinics in the San Diego County area that often catered to migrant women, a Fox News Digital review found.
«Here we were, the largest obstetric practice in San Diego County and our business was mostly Medi-Cal, the state welfare program, and migrant workers. We needed their business and even appealed to them with Spanish-language ads on local TV,» Bush, who was referring to Athena Women’s Health, commonly known at the time as Athena Health, recounted in Where Does it Hurt? — a 2014 book he co-authored.
At its height, Athena Health helped give birth to thousands of children, according to Bush, who opened a network of birthing clinics with his business partner, Todd Park, who would go on to serve years later as the chief technology officer during the Obama administration.
«We actually owned a birth center. And at the height, we were doing 3,000 babies a year,» Bush told the audience on the Venture Fizz Podcast in 2022. «If you multiplied our monthly run rate, maybe 3,300. So really big, prosperous, not prosperous. A lot of low-income families with very low couldn’t, not on Medicaid, had to pay cash, migrant laborers, all kinds of people.»
FED AUDIT, EMERGENCY MEDICAID U.DERCUT DEMS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTH COVERAGE
Jonathan Bush pictured in a campaign video in October 2025. (Jonathan Bush for Governor)
Bush’s resurfaced comments about his business raise questions about whether he had knowingly helped women, who may not have been American citizens, secure U.S. citizenship for their children through birthright citizenship and come as he wages a campaign to become the Republican nominee for governor in Maine.
When pressed by Fox New Digital with questions about Athena’s work with immigrants, the Bush campaign pushed back, arguing that Athenahealth had never offered birthing services and that, as a healthcare software company, it would have been illegal to provide them.
«To distract from his flailing campaign, 25-year DC lobbyist Bobby Charles continues to lie about my record of creating hundreds of Maine jobs,» Bush said in a statement to Fox News Digital. «Ironically, Lobby Charles – who lied about his military service – lobbied for a liberal pro-illegal immigrant, pro-gun control, pro-birthright citizenship California Democrat Attorney General. Here’s the truth without the Lobbyist Lies: athenahealth/Athena Women’s Health provided software, billing, and management services to 116,000 American doctors.»
«They have never provided any medical services of any kind. And as I’ve said consistently, I agree with President Trump — illegal immigrants should be deported,» Bush, a first cousin to former President George W. Bush, added.
While Bush’s statement about Athenahealth not providing medical services with birthing clinics is accurate, the failed venture, Athena Health, that Bush was initially involved with for less than 2 years was operating birthing clinics.
«Our new company started out with twelve clinics scattered through San Diego County,» Bush said in his 2014 book, referring to Athena Health. «The six doctors and thirty-five midwives were doing two thousand births a year. The midwives were all Latinas. They were warm and friendly and supportive, just what our business plan called for.»
A 2005 profile piece also reveals the early days of their main birthing clinic, where they were «listening to the urgent and beautiful sounds of a baby’s first gulps of air from the birthing room nearby.»
«Jonathan Bush and Todd Park sat in their offices in a San Diego birthing clinic in 1997, listening to the urgent and beautiful sounds of a baby’s first gulps of air from the birthing room nearby. The cries were music for the two fresh-faced former Booz Allen Hamilton health-care consultants, 28 and 24, respectively, who had decided they’d learned enough to run a physician’s clinic better and more efficiently than the doctors could,» the article reads.
The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity also describes Bush’s work with Athena as a «birthing clinic in San Diego.»
GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL BLASTED BY CRITICS FOR ‘LYING’ ON STAGE ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIRES
Jonathan J. Bush Jr., president and CEO of athenahealth Inc., expresses enthusiasm during a tour of the Watertown, Mass., company before announcing its expansion into Maine on Nov. 28, 2007. (Gordon Chibroski/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
It’s unclear what portion of his clients were migrant women. But from his own comments, the volume appears to have been a significant volume of business.
«‘All migrants all the time.’ It was a laugh line for us, but not a very funny one. This was not the thriving business we envisioned. We were hemorrhaging money,» Bush said in his book.
«A lot of low-income families had to pay cash — migrant laborers, all kinds of people,» he continued.
Bush, who has been a healthcare technology entrepreneur for decades and is best known for co-founding Athenahealth, a cloud-based software and services company marketed to medical practices, has touted this experience on the campaign trail.
«I’ve made my career disrupting the status quo, creating jobs and helping people achieve their American dream,» Bush, who announced his candidacy for governor in October, said in an announcement video.
During his race, he has positioned himself as a Maine-first candidate, promising to make Maine more of a destination state for businesses and investors by cutting taxes, auditing local government, and increasing energy supplies by tapping into natural gas reserves.
While he has distanced himself from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party on some issues, he recently told Fox News that «everybody wants endorsements, a giant endorsement like Donald Trump would be phenomenal. He’s held off. This is a purple state…we’d love one.»
Although he has leaned heavily on his business experience to make his pitch to voters, his top GOP opponent, Bobby Charles, believes his birthing clinics and the pitch to migrant women goes against the pro-America, pro-Maine message he’s pitching now.
«It is not surprising to hear Bush now may also have been involved in facilitating illegal immigration. The contrast couldn’t be clearer. I am a pro-Trump conservative who will remove illegals out of the state and ban sharia law. Jonathan ‘Never Trump,’ Bush simply can’t be trusted to do what most Mainers want,» Charles said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The Bush campaign strongly pushed back against Charles’ characterization that Bush facilitated illegal immigration or birthright citizenship.
According to the National Immigration Law Center, undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in insurance programs, prompting them to search out services where they can find lower costs and payment flexibility.
According to Bush, as Athena continued to take on a higher volume of those clients, the business’s stability weakened.
MINNESOTA MEDICAID OPERATOR’S BANKRUPTCY-TO-RICHES RISE CRASHES INTO FRAUD PROBE
Demonstrators hold up a banner during a citizenship rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington on May 15, 2025. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Our popularity worked against us… Pretty soon, most of our remaining clients were indigent. They were either on Medicaid or they had no insurance at all and paid in cash or promised to pay in cash,» Bush wrote in his book.
«I’m probably not giving away anything to tell you that it floundered, and then failed,» he continued.
Maine holds its primary election for governor on Tuesday, June 9.
health care executive, immigration, george w bush, governors, maine
INTERNACIONAL
NY AG hopeful blasts Letitia James as Medicaid fraud recoveries collapse: ‘She’s not doing the job’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Republican New York attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy is making Medicaid fraud a centerpiece of her campaign, charging that prosecutions have sharply declined under Attorney General Letitia James.
Cracking down on Medicaid fraud has become a flashpoint issue in the country after investigators uncovered billions of dollars in alleged fraud tied to public assistance programs in Minnesota. The scandal pushed the Trump administration to make cracking down on fraud a higher priority, with Vice President JD Vance leading a federal effort. Now, Republican candidates in races across the country, including New York’s attorney general contest, are calling for states to do more to prosecute Medicaid fraud and recover taxpayer money.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Komatireddy accused James of failing to aggressively pursue Medicaid fraud, saying taxpayers could be losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries.
«They’re totally failing to prosecute Medicaid fraud, and you can look at that based solely on the record of Letitia James and her Democratic predecessors,» Komatireddy said. «This is not a partisan issue.»
New York Attorney General GOP candidate Saritha Komatireddy blast AG James for failing to adequately investigate and prosecute Medicaid fraud. ((Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images) Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
NEW YORK REPUBLICANS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT FRAUD INVESTIGATION FOLLOWING MINNESOTA REVELATIONS
Komatireddy’s said Medicaid fraud recoveries have plummeted under James, falling from $168 million in 2019, her first year in office, to just $31 million in 2024, according to data from New York Attorney General’s annual reports.
Before James took office, New York attorneys general routinely posted some of the nation’s largest Medicaid fraud recoveries. Under Eliot Spitzer, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovered $243.6 million in 2006. Andrew Cuomo’s office then recovered $113.8 million in 2007, $263.5 million in 2008 and more than $283 million in 2009, totaling more than $660 million during his first three years as attorney general. And Cuomo’s successor, Eric Schneiderman, recovered more than $335 million in 2012 — the second-highest annual total in the unit’s history and its highest recovery in seven years.
«Even her Democratic predecessors used to bring in $200 to $300 million per year in fraudulent proceeds,» Komatireddy said. «When Tish James comes into office, it goes down to $20 to $30 million per year. According to her own year-end reports, she’s just decided not to do that part of the job.»
ALEX BERENSON: MINNESOTA WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING: NEW YORK’S MEDICAID GRIFT IS FAR WORSE
Republican candidate for New York Attorney General Saritha Komatireddy holds a news conference with state GOP lawmakers on increasing public transit safety in New York on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at West Capitol Park in Albany, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images))
As New York recovers less money from Medicaid fraud each year under James, the state’s spending on the fraud recovery program has increased, from about $45 million in fiscal 2020 to $70 million in 2025.
«It used to be the case the New York Attorney General’s office would get around 100 criminal convictions a year, holding people who are stealing from Medicaid accountable,» Komatireddy said. «Under Tish James, that number is very low. There’s one year where she got eight criminal convictions.»
New York’s handling of Medicaid fraud has also caught the attention of the federal government. Earlier this year, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz sent Gov. Kathy Hochul a letter asking for more information about how the state screens providers and fights fraud. Oz said the review is meant to help protect Medicaid beneficiaries and maintain public confidence in the program. New York was one of only three states — along with California and Minnesota — to receive the letter.
READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD
Komatireddy said reduced enforcement ultimately costs New Yorkers by increasing healthcare spending and reducing funds available for other state priorities.
«It’s New Yorkers who pay the price, because when people steal from Medicaid, that increases our healthcare costs,» she said. «When we are just letting a billion dollars go out the door over the course of her term, that’s money that we could be getting back as taxpayers.»
Instead, Komatireddy said lawmakers are forced to seek additional revenue from taxpayers.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stands silently during a press conference at the office of the Attorney General in New York City on Dec. 15, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
«The folks in Albany keep thinking of new ways to take more money away from taxpayers,» she said. «If you had an attorney general who actually prosecuted fraud properly, you wouldn’t have to worry about a tax hike.»
Komatireddy pledged to strengthen the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit by adding 20 criminal prosecutors.
Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor who spent more than a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and later served as chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, has framed the race as a choice between a career law enforcement prosecutor and an inept incumbent.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Like I said, we have to actually just do the job of attorney general,» Henry said. «That job involves prosecuting crime and fraud.»
The New York Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
attorney general, health care executive, republicans, governors, kathy hochul
INTERNACIONAL
Terremotos en Venezuela: el campamento invadido por la incertidumbre y la increíble historia de la mujer que se salvó dos veces
INTERNACIONAL
La Universidad de El Salvador identifica dos genotipos del virus Epstein-Barr en linfomas de Hodgkin
La Universidad de El Salvador (UES) confirmó la presencia de los genotipos uno y dos del virus Epstein-Barr en linfomas de Hodgkin diagnosticados en el país, un hallazgo que aporta bases para futuras investigaciones sobre el comportamiento clínico y las alternativas terapéuticas de estos tumores en la región.
La investigación, a cargo del Laboratorio de Virología de la Facultad de Medicina, pone en relieve la importancia de caracterizar a nivel molecular los tumores vinculados a este virus, que puede estar presente en más del 90% de la población mundial.
Carlos Ortega, médico y biólogo molecular experto en virología y responsable del laboratorio, explicó en entrevista con Infobae que el virus Epstein-Barr es un virus de ADN descubierto el siglo pasado a partir de su relación con tumores.
“Más del noventa por ciento de la población puede estar infectada por el virus a nivel mundial”, detalló el especialista, quien también es profesor del Departamento de Microbiología de la Facultad de Medicina.
La infección suele ser asintomática, aunque en algunos casos provoca mononucleosis infecciosa y, en menor medida, se asocia a tumores como el linfoma de Hodgkin, linfoma no Hodgkin, linfoma Burkitt y otros.
El estudio de la Universidad de El Salvador comprobó que ambos genotipos principales del virus —el tipo uno y el tipo dos— están implicados en linfomas de Hodgkin entre la población infantil salvadoreña.
Ortega explicó que “el linfoma de Hodgkin es un tumor de linfocito B, una célula clave del sistema inmune”. Cuando se produce la infección, “el virus Epstein-Barr infecta estos linfocitos y permanece latente de por vida, por factores ambientales, de inmunosupresión o genéticos, esta infección puede transformar el linfocito B y provocar el cáncer”, detalló el galeno.
El médico aclaró que, aunque la presencia del virus no explica la totalidad de los casos, sí contribuye a la inmortalización de estas células en un porcentaje importante.
“Ambos genotipos, uno y dos, son capaces de provocar la transformación del linfocito B en un linfocito anormal, lo que desemboca en el linfoma. El comportamiento clínico, epidemiológico y de pronóstico puede variar dependiendo del genotipo involucrado”, señaló Ortega.
Antes de este trabajo, en El Salvador no existían datos sobre la prevalencia de los genotipos del virus en linfomas infantiles y adultos. Según el equipo de investigación, conocer estos genotipos es clave para establecer comparaciones con otros países y avanzar hacia mejores alternativas terapéuticas.
“En nuestro país no se había demostrado cuáles eran los genotipos que estaban relacionados con los linfomas que se diagnostican, en particular el linfoma de Hodgkin”, subrayó Ortega.
El hallazgo resultó de una colaboración previa a la pandemia entre el Laboratorio de Virología y Microbiología Molecular, Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de El Salvador, y el Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, División de Patología, del Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutiérrez, de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Además se contó con el apoyo de la Red Iberoamericana de Linfomas-RIALCYTED.
Sobre la continuidad del estudio, el médico explicó que “el siguiente paso es analizar el comportamiento clínico de los linfomas en relación con los genotipos del virus en más casos”. Asimismo, desean investigar variantes dentro de cada genotipo y comparar la filogenia de los virus detectados en El Salvador con la de otros países, lo que podría contribuir a mejorar el diagnóstico y tratamiento de los pacientes.
“Esto permitirá una mejor caracterización de estos tumores y, en consecuencia, un mejor tratamiento. Ya existen fármacos dirigidos a proteínas del virus que transforman el linfocito B, lo que abre la puerta a la medicina de precisión”, dijo Ortega.
El galeno agregó que la Universidad de El Salvador busca contribuir a la caracterización molecular de estos tumores para facilitar el acceso a tratamientos más efectivos, aunque reconoció que el costo de los diagnósticos y tratamientos sigue siendo elevado para la mayoría de la población.
“El tratamiento del linfoma de Hodgkin puede superar miles de dólares por paciente durante todo el proceso terapéutico, ya que habitualmente se requieren varios ciclos de tratamiento y seguimiento especializado”, indicó.
En cuanto al acceso, Ortega aclaró que tanto en el sector público como privado existe la posibilidad de caracterizar muchos de estos tumores, aunque en la práctica la mayoría de la población depende del sistema público por el alto costo de los tratamientos.
Destacó que existe una fundación que colabora activamente con el Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamín Bloom para ayudar en la terapia de los infantes con cáncer, incluido el linfoma de Hodgkin.
Sobre el cuadro clínico, el médico mencionó que “el síntoma inicial puede ser un ganglio inflamado en el cuello u otra región, a veces puede acompañarse de fiebre prolongada, sudoración nocturna, y otros síntomas inespecíficos”. El diagnóstico requiere estudios especializados y biopsia, “y los pacientes deben ser derivados al Hospital de tercer nivel”.
El especialista reiteró que solo un pequeño porcentaje de todos los infectados desarrolla linfoma u otra neoplasia relacionada con el virus, ya que influyen factores genéticos, de inmunosupresión y ambientales.
“Los fármacos usados para tratar el linfoma de Hodgkin se basan en esquemas terapéuticos bien establecidos y su utilización se fundamenta principalmente en la caracterización clínico-patológica del tumor.
No obstante, la caracterización molecular del linfoma, incluida la identificación del virus de Epstein-Barr y de sus genotipos, aporta información valiosa para comprender los mecanismos biológicos de la enfermedad, su comportamiento clínico-epidemiológico, y el desarrollo a futuro de terapias más específicas”, aseguró el galeno.
Agregó que “este conocimiento podría contribuir a optimizar el manejo de los pacientes y mejorar su pronóstico a medida que avancen las estrategias de medicina de precisión”; por ejemplo, para atacar específicamente los antígenos con función oncogénica del virus Epstein-Barr en los linfomas.
Finalmente, el especialista destacó que el avance en biología molecular tras la pandemia fortaleció la capacidad del país para caracterizar tumores y diagnosticar casos, aunque insistió en que aún falta mucho por investigar sobre la relación entre los diferentes genotipos del virus y el comportamiento clínico de los linfomas entre la población infantil del país.
ues,el salvador,medicina el salvador
Hallaron el cuerpo de una mujer que llevaba dos semanas desaparecida en San Justo
Cómo reaccionará el dólar este lunes tras la renuncia de Adorni, según el mercado cripto
La ironía de Victoria Villarruel tras la renuncia de Adorni: “Solo entré para leer los comentarios”
Renuncia de Manuel Adorni: una por una, las repercusiones que dejó su salida del gobierno de Javier Milei
Iker Munian será el nuevo entrenador de San Lorenzo para el próximo semestre
El adiós a Ernestina Pais: así será el emotivo velatorio que reunirá a sus seres queridos
Desesperación y burocracia: Pacientes con cáncer denuncian esperas de más de 20 días en PAMI para recibir su medicación
Nuevos controles a las devoluciones de 30% por gastos en el exterior: cómo pedir el reembolso del dólar tarjeta ante ARCA
El CEO de Epic Games tiene claro por qué fracasan los nuevos juegos multijugador, y el culpable puedes ser tú y tus amigos
Far-left surge: Mamdani-backed candidates oust Dem establishment incumbents
INTERNACIONAL3 días agoLíderes mundiales ofrecieron ayuda humanitaria y equipos de rescate a Venezuela tras los devastadores terremotos
- POLITICA3 días ago
El Gobierno le ofreció asistencia humanitaria a Venezuela por los terremotos: «Acá no hay ideología que nos separe»
- POLITICA2 días ago
El oficialismo hizo caer la sesión del Senado para evitar la interpelación a Manuel Adorni
