Jonathan Bush, a Republican candidate running for governor of Maine who has been seeking President Trump’s endorsement ahead of the June 9 primary, previously operated a network of birthing clinics in San Diego County that primarily served migrant women and low-income families. The revelation comes from Bush’s own accounts in his 2014 book and podcast interviews, raising questions about the consistency between his past business ventures and his current political messaging. Bush, a first cousin to former President George W. Bush, has positioned himself as a pro-business candidate focused on making Maine more attractive to investors and companies.
In his book “Where Does it Hurt?”, Bush described how Athena Women’s Health, commonly known as Athena Health at the time, relied heavily on Medicaid patients and migrant workers for its business model. The company even ran Spanish-language television advertisements to attract this demographic. “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 wrote.
Network delivered thousands of births annually in California
At its peak, the birthing clinic network Bush co-founded with Todd Park, who later served as chief technology officer during the Obama administration, delivered approximately 3,000 to 3,300 babies per year. Bush opened the venture with twelve clinics scattered throughout San Diego County, staffed by six doctors and thirty-five midwives. “We actually owned a birth center. And at the height, we were doing 3,000 babies a year,” Bush told listeners 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.”
According to Bush’s own description, the midwives working at the clinics were all Latina women, chosen specifically because they were “warm and friendly and supportive, just what our business plan called for.” A 2005 profile piece documented the early days of the main birthing clinic, describing how Bush and Park sat in their offices listening to newborn babies’ first cries in nearby delivery rooms in 1997. The two former Booz Allen Hamilton healthcare consultants, then aged 28 and 24 respectively, believed they could run a physician’s clinic more efficiently than doctors themselves.
Campaign disputes medical service claims amid political scrutiny
When confronted with questions about Athena’s work with immigrant populations, the Bush campaign issued a strong rebuttal, drawing a distinction between the failed early venture and the later successful software company. “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. The campaign emphasized that Athenahealth, the software company Bush became known for founding, never provided medical services of any kind and only offered software, billing, and management services to 116,000 American doctors.
Bush added that as a healthcare software company, Athenahealth would have been legally prohibited from providing birthing services directly. “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 stated. While this clarification is accurate regarding the later software venture, Bush’s early involvement with the actual birthing clinic operation lasted less than two years but involved direct medical service provision through the network of clinics and midwives.
Financial struggles emerged as migrant client base expanded
Bush acknowledged in his book that the birthing clinic business model faced significant financial challenges as it took on more low-income and migrant clients. The volume of clients unable to pay through traditional insurance channels grew substantially over time. “‘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 recounted in his book. The clinic’s popularity among certain demographics actually worked against its financial stability.
The business dynamics created a difficult situation where most remaining clients were indigent, either enrolled in Medicaid or paying in cash without insurance coverage. “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. According to the National Immigration Law Center, undocumented immigrants cannot enroll in insurance programs, prompting them to seek services offering lower costs and payment flexibility. Bush ultimately acknowledged the venture’s failure, stating, “I’m probably not giving away anything to tell you that it floundered, and then failed.”
Political opponent challenges consistency of pro-Maine message
Bobby Charles, Bush’s top GOP opponent in the gubernatorial race, seized on the revelations to question Bush’s credibility on immigration issues central to conservative voters. “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. The criticism highlights the political sensitivity of Bush’s past business dealings in a Republican primary where immigration policy remains a key issue.
Despite distancing himself from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party on some issues during his campaign, Bush recently expressed strong interest in securing Trump’s endorsement. “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,” Bush told media outlets. The former president has not yet made an endorsement in the Maine race as the primary approaches.
Healthcare entrepreneur pivots to gubernatorial campaign
Bush announced his candidacy for governor in October, positioning himself as a disruptive business leader capable of transforming Maine’s economic landscape. “I’ve made my career disrupting the status quo, creating jobs and helping people achieve their American dream,” Bush said in his announcement video. His campaign platform focuses on making Maine a destination state for businesses and investors through tax cuts, local government audits, and increased energy supplies by tapping into natural gas reserves. Bush is best known in the business world for co-founding Athenahealth, the cloud-based software and services company that became successful after the early birthing clinic venture failed.
The gubernatorial race has intensified as the June 9 primary date approaches, with both candidates highlighting their contrasting approaches to immigration policy, business experience, and alignment with Trump’s political movement. Maine voters will decide which Republican candidate advances to the general election.
