Campaign 2012: Santorum's hospital board compensation; Sebelius 'urged to sit out' fundraisers

Rick Santorum's newly released tax returns show his wealth has increased substantially since leaving the Senate -; leaving him subject him to an attack from Mitt Romney.

The Associated Press: Santorum's Tax Returns Show Rise In Wealth
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum released four years of federal income tax returns on Wednesday night ... Santorum was also paid nearly $400,000 in compensation and stock options as a board director at Universal Health Services, a hospital management firm, after he left the Senate in 2006. He also owns up to $250,000 in Universal stock. As a senator, Santorum had sponsored several unsuccessful bills that would have secured more Medicaid funding hospitals run by Universal and other medical firms in Puerto Rico (Braun, 2/16).

The Associated Press: Santorum Targets Romney 'Negative Attack Machine'
[In a new Santorum ad] the narrator says Romney is "trying to hide from his big-government Romneycare" that's not completely true. Since the GOP race began, Romney has walked a delicate line by refusing to apologize for the health care plan he implemented while governor and distancing himself from a similar health care plan President Barack Obama's signed into law in 2010 (Jackson, 2/15).

Politico: Rush Limbaugh: Birth Control Plot Against Rick Santorum
Rush Limbaugh charged Wednesday that Democrats are using the Obama administration's controversial mandate on contraception coverage to plot against one presidential candidate: Rick Santorum. "The whole point of this contraception stuff [that] started last week is to make sure that if Santorum get this Republican nomination, that's what he's going to be known for" ... the conservative radio host said on his show (Lee, 2/15).

In the meantime, a GOP senator is cautioning the president -;

The Hill: Health Agency Chief Urged To Sit Out Obama Fundraisers
President Obama's top health official shouldn't speak at fundraising events for his reelection, the top Republican on the Senate committee with jurisdiction over health policy told the president on Wednesday. ... The letter comes after The New York Times reported that Obama would dispatch "Cabinet officials, senior advisers at the White House and top campaign staff members" to speak at Democrats' Priorities USA Action (Pecquet, 2/15).

CQ HealthBeat: Enzi: Fundraising A Conflict Of Interest For Sebelius As Regulator
Sen. Michael B. Enzi has sent a letter to President Obama expressing "deep disappointment" with his decision to send Cabinet officials -; including Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius -; to Super PAC fundraisers. Her appearance will create a conflict of interest given her role as a regulator and could coerce companies with business before the federal government to contribute to the Obama campaign, said Enzi, R-Wyo. (Reichard, 2/15).