June-December 2003: Top Medicare Official Works on Legislation while Looking for Related Job in Private Sector

At the same time top Medicare official Thomas A. Scully is working with Congress to draft new Medicare legislation, he is looking for a private sector job that will pay him to advise clients affected by the very same Medicare program he is helping to draft. The fact that Scully’s job search is taking place at the same time he is working on legislation, raises concerns that his contributions to the bill are potentially being influenced by his own private interests. Scully insists however that he is complying with all federal ethics regulations and says he has a waiver from the department’s general counsel permitting him to seek work in the private sector. By December he has narrowed his list of prospective employers to five companies: Alston & Bird; Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz; Ropes & Gray; Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe; and Texas Pacific Group. All of the companies have clients in the health care industry. Scully, who made $675,000 a year as a lobbyist before taking his current position in the government at $134,000 a year, is expected to make a hefty salary in the private sector with his insider knowledge of the new Medicare program. “His exhaustive knowledge of the Medicare program and the intricacies of the legislation, approved by Congress last week, would make him a prize catch for any law firm or private equity firm,” notes the New York Times. Scully will resign on December 16, less than a month after Congress passes the Medicare bill. [Washington Post, 12/3/2003; New York Times, 12/3/2003]