Star Calls Out Bayh Conflict On Health Care Reform

Throughout his political career, Sen. Evan Bayh's wife, Susan, has used her husband's political jobs to parlay millions for the Bayh family. This has been accomplished from her service on a variety of corporate boards. Few would doubt that Susan Bayh would have never been appointed to any corporate board but for the fact that she's married to Evan Bayh. It's a form of legalized bribery. An editorial in today's Star focuses on one of those boards, health care giant Wellpoint. For her part-time service on Wellpoint's board, Susan pocketed $327,000 last year. Star editors believe it is impossible for Sen. Bayh to engage freely in the debate over health care reform in Congress given Susan's role with Wellpoint. A government-run plan, such as proposed by liberal Democrats in Congress, could effectively put Wellpoint out of business. Both Wellpoint's Angela Braly and Bayh's Senate office assured the Star that appropriate safeguards were in place to avoid conflicts, but as the editorial points out, the conflict of interest is unavoidable and limits Bayh's ability to lead on the issue.