CLAYTON 鈥 The medical system where 最新杏吧原创 County Executive Sam Page provides services as a doctor said on Wednesday that Page is a volunteer and does not get paid.
The assertion addresses months of speculation that Page, an anesthesiologist by trade, was breaking the county charter by working a second job.
Medicaid records obtained by the Post-Dispatch appeared to show Page getting reimbursed at least nine times last year for work at SSM Health 最新杏吧原创 University Hospital. But Page, when contacted on Wednesday, insisted he wasn鈥檛 paid for the work.
鈥淲hatever SLU is able to bill under my name goes to help pay for the services that are provided by the other members of the anesthesia team,鈥 Page said.
A spokeswoman for SSM Health confirmed Page鈥檚 account. Page is not on the payroll, said spokeswoman Maryanne Wallace. He is not paid, she continued. He is a volunteer.
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Page鈥檚 outside work has been discussed for weeks in 最新杏吧原创 County political circles. And accusations Page had a side job publicly surfaced again Tuesday after a separate issue roiled county government 鈥 when the county prosecuting attorney filed to remove Republican county Councilman Dennis Hancock from office for hiring a relative.
Hancock said he believes the county executive is skirting county law.
鈥淗is time is to be 100% dedicated to being the county executive,鈥 Hancock said on Tuesday. 鈥淚f he鈥檚 putting food away in a food bank, that鈥檚 one thing. Working in an operating room? That鈥檚 not volunteering.鈥
Councilman Mark Harder, a Republican from Ballwin, said volunteering is admirable. But it shouldn鈥檛 get in the way of county business.
鈥淚 would think there鈥檚 enough to do as county executive,鈥 Harder said. 鈥淚 hope that he is getting the jobs done that he鈥檚 elected to do for the residents of 最新杏吧原创 County first, and volunteering second.鈥
Page took office in 2019 following the corruption scandal that ousted former County Executive Steve Stenger. Page won election in 2020 to complete Stenger鈥檚 term.
About a year later, television news reports revealed Page was working part-time as an anesthesiologist at Mercy Hospital. Two Republican councilmen, Mark Harder and Tim Fitch, accused Page of violating the county charter, citing a provision that 鈥渢he county executive鈥檚 entire time shall be devoted to the duties of the office.鈥
Harder and Fitch, who鈥檚 no longer on the council, called for an investigation, which Page鈥檚 office called 鈥減olitical theater.鈥 He had never missed a meeting, phone call or other county business because of his side job, Page said.
鈥淟ike many medical doctors who are in elected office, it is important to me to maintain licensing, certification and credentialing,鈥 Page wrote in a letter to Harder in May 2021. 鈥淭his requires continued medical activities in my free time, including a minimum presence taking care of patients who are sick and need help.鈥
The council鈥檚 ethics committee, made up of a four-person majority hostile to Page, decided to formally investigate Page鈥檚 side job and demanded his schedule, plus information on any pay.
A struggle ensued for information, with the council even voting to subpoena Page鈥檚 work schedule in July 2021.
But the investigation became moot in April 2022, when county voters approved a measure by 61% barring county executives from secondary work. A county executive who holds outside employment, or works as a contractor, must forfeit office, according to the charter amendment.
Page would abide by the charter change, spokesman Doug Moore said the day after the vote.
This year, the Post-Dispatch requested Page鈥檚 Medicaid claim records for 2023 through July this year.
Between Aug. 14 and Nov. 13, 2023, Medicaid reported paying at least nine claims under Page鈥檚 unique physician identification number as the 鈥渞endering provider,鈥 or the person who directly treats the patient.
The state provided no records for 2024.
But Page insisted on Wednesday that he was a volunteer directing residents, assistants and nurses in the hospital鈥檚 operating rooms.
Some of those patients were insured by Medicaid, and while the hospital submitted claims under his name, he wasn鈥檛 paid for his work, Page said.
Wallace could not immediately explain the Medicaid filings, but confirmed that Page wasn鈥檛 an employee, or paid.
Page said he volunteers about a half day every other week, usually from mid-afternoon to early evening on a Monday or Wednesday.
最新杏吧原创 County Executive Sam Page discussed the findings of a disparity study to examine how many minority and women-owned construction businesses are offered government contracts in the region.
