For many Iowans, health care reform conjures images of exams, tests or medical bills. For Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) the image is an entirely different one: lavish sun-splashed poolside buffets and warm afternoons on the links.

That’s because Latham has been using his leadership PAC to pay for expensive four-star getaways with his buddies in Congress. According to records obtained by www.opensecrets.org and reported in the Iowa Independent, Latham has hosted at least five of the swank getaways this year alone.

Who’s contributing to Latham’s PAC so he can party like a rock star? This should come as no surprise, it’s major health insurers. Among the top ten for this year are Blue Cross Blue Shield and AFLAC. Also on the list are Kirke Van Orsdel and USAA, both insurance providers.

“Latham has been taking the health insurers’ money and living it up at the same time he’s part of the Republican fight to stop health care reform in Congress,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan said Monday. “He should be ashamed of himself – this is not what Iowans expect of their elected officials.”

Kiernan said Latham doesn’t need any town hall meetings to tell him where his bread is buttered. “Rep. Latham has his memories of an Atlantic City weekend at the Trump Taj Mahal Resort Casino, a golf weekend at the Greenbrier in West Virginia and a weekend in January at the LaQuinta Resort in Palm Springs,” Kiernan said.

And the other major contributors to the PAC are no corporate saints: Altria (you know them as Philip Morris) and Wal-Mart. Latham will surely be a ‘no’ vote on any health reform package that emerges. After all, it’s starting to get cold again in Iowa, and the beach calls.

Source information: http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave.php?cmte=C00409672&cycle=2010

Additional source information: http://iowaindependent.com/20422/latham-catching-flak-for-pac-funded-trips