Who Listens to Richard Scott and His Cartoon Villains?
Published May 03, 2009 @ 07:08PM PT
Conservatives for Patients Rights is the biggest game in town in terms of running ads against the push for comprehensive health care reform. Honestly, they seem as obvious as cartoon villains. Financed largely by an independent businessman who made his millions running a hospital system into the ground, and with a message that’s more focused on bashing Britain and Canada than it is in the truth, they’ve added to their repertoire blatant misquoting of people who actually criticize the current state of dysfunction in American health care. Who could take these guys seriously? Yet the fact that we hear about them so often means that someone does.
We’ve mentioned the strange case of Richard Scott before, though new details have emerged on the Health Care for America Now blog and Media Matters. Take one businessman who made his name turning the Columbia/HCA hospital network into the equivalent of a sweatshop, overworking the staff, dramatically reducing quality, and exiting stage right in the midst of a fraud investigation whose settlement cost Columbia/HCA $1.7 billion – the largest corporate fraud settlement in American history. Suffice to say, the fraud came from inflating cost estimates and claims to Medicare, street money to private practice doctors if they’d increase their referrals to the hospitals, fudging data, cooking the books. Scott has been called “the Bernie Madoff of health care” by Jason Rosenbaum and “the Gordon Gecko of the healthcare world” by Christopher Hayes. Quite the pedigree. And no wonder he’s willing to spend money against reforming health care, since he made his fortune off the dysfunctions of the system in the first place.
You’d be surprised how infrequently Politico has mentioned the background of Rick Scott during their multiple stories on Conservatives for Patients’ Rights.
Considering how heavy a role fraud played in the making of Rick Scott, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised by their latest commercial. Carrying out the old "every body knows" hatchet job on Canadian and British medicine, they include a clip of an interview with Dr. Brian Day, head of the Canadian Medical Association, which justifiably points out the problems with delays in care. What they don’t at all mention is that Dr. Brian Day is even more horrified with the American system. As reported by Ben Smith, the good doctor was asked in an interview whether other countries also experience similar wait lines. “I think this is what people tend to forget. They equate alternatives to the Canadian health care system with ‘Americanization,’ which is not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about countries like Belgium, and Switzerland, and France, Austria.” Right on Dr. Day’s Web site is a letter of support from the Canadian Orthopaedic Resident Association, which says, “Although often accused of trying to Americanize our health care system, he has often spoken and written against the American health care system for its unequal access to care and cost-ineffectiveness.” Boy did CPR choose the wrong spokesperson on that one!
They may seem like the anti-reform Keystone Cops, fighting the health care reform fights of the 20th Century, but they’ve also found a way to get their fear mongering into the mainstream media.
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Comments (10)
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Tim has been an online organizer and blogger on health care policy for the Obama for America campaign (during the primaries) and currently for the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare, a labor union for intern and resident doctors. Views expressed here are Tim's, and don't represent the positions of CIR or SEIU.
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I wake up every day and my health care decisions are made by an insurance company who owes their first allegiance to their stock holders. Now that's scary!
Posted by Julie Greenspan on 05/04/2009 @ 08:01AM PT
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"Conservatives for Patients Rights".. Has a standard Orwellian ring to it. I'd expect nothing less from Fox and Mr. Scott.
Posted by Martin Bring on 05/04/2009 @ 12:58PM PT
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You’d be surprised how infrequently Politico has mentioned the background of Rick Scott during their multiple stories on Conservatives for Patients’ Rights.
Nobody should be surprised by that fact. Politico is an establishment tool and should not ever be trusted.
Posted by robin stelly on 05/04/2009 @ 01:33PM PT
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"I wake up every day and my health care decisions are made by an insurance company who owes their first allegiance to their stock holders. Now that's scary!"
What if I woke up every morning and my health care decisions were made by a group of elected officials who know nothing about health care but are truly just bean counters. That's even scarier!
Posted by jack barr on 05/04/2009 @ 04:04PM PT
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Yup.
Good thing ABSOLUTELY NO HEALTH CARE PLAN CURRENTLY UNDER CONSIDERATION has that feature. We can all get out of the nightmare world.
Posted by Timothy Foley on 05/04/2009 @ 04:50PM PT
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ALERT! Conservatives for Patients' Rights
NEW COMMERCIAL! Rick Scott is at it again-
--Featuring Rick Scott & doctor in England. He must think we are all stupid!
Guess who is in England? HCA International
Remember who Richard (aka Rick) Scott is - The Epitome of Fraud and Abuse- created nothing but waste.
2009-The Wall Street Journal reported that Richard Scott, "the former chief executive of HCA Inc," had formed the non-profit organization Conservatives for Patients' Rights as part of a "lobbying campaign to derail or modify" President Obama's health care proposals, …
The WSJ failed to document why Rick Scott departed from HCA.
Let me remind you: FRAUD- BIGGER THEN ENRON
THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2003; WWW.USDOJ.GOV;
HCA Inc. (formerly known as Columbia/HCA and HCA - The Healthcare Company)
LARGEST HEALTH CARE FRAUD CASE IN U.S. HISTORY SETTLED;
HCA INVESTIGATION NETS RECORD TOTAL OF $1.7 BILLION
Note: Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) was acquired by Columbia in 1994.
Back to the commercial with the Doctor in England--- HCA International
2008- Welcome to London's leading private hospitals
Why we are London's No. 1 private hospital group
More than 3,000 top London and UK specialists in private practicePosted by susan golden on 05/04/2009 @ 06:16PM PT
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Before GW Bush was affiliated with Richard Rainwater may I remind you-Richard Scott was the ex-partner of Richard Rainwater with Columbia Homecare Group.
Why does this matter? Because the wrath of Richard Scott’s fraud just ended in December 2008 in the largest private financial fraud case in our country's history in 2002 when FBI raided the offices of National Century Financial Enterprises Dublin, Ohio, headquarters.
Guess where Columbia and many of the other publicly traded healthcare companies DUMPED their losing asset, Home healthcare? National Century Financial Enterprises
National Century Financial Enterprises:
“This case is one of the largest corporate fraud investigations involving a privately held company headquartered in small town America,” said Assistant Director Kenneth W. Kaiser of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division.
March 26, 2008; By Jodi Andes; THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Nine other executives have been convicted or pleaded guilty in National Century's collapse. Only Poulsen and executive James Happ still await trial.
Only Poulsen – the CEO and executive James Happ still await trial?
Friday, October 31, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
Former National Century Financial Enterprises CEO Convicted of Conspiracy, Fraud and Money Laundering
Fraud Cost Investors More Than $2 Billion
December 9, 2008. James K. Happ, 48, is charged with conspiracy, money-laundering conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud; the 11th National Century executive to be tried or admit guilt. , Also today, a former friend of Happ's testified that, while working at National Century, Happ boasted that he never could be charged with any fraud because he didn't sign anything.
December 18, 2008 - The ONE AND ONLY acquittal; James K Happ!
By Jodi Andes THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Prosecutors' case fell short, juror says National Century fraud case produces 1st acquittal ; The "not guilty" verdicts that came in federal court yesterday were not so much a vindication of the last National Century Financial Enterprises executive to stand trial, a juror said.
Instead, they were more a belief that federal prosecutors had not done their job, the juror said after he and his fellow jurors acquitted James K. Happ of five counts after 12 hours of deliberation. "He very well may have been guilty. A lot of us thought he was," said the juror who wouldn't give his name. "But if he was, you gotta have the evidence."
Where was James K Happ when Richard Scott was at Columbia in 1997?
In 1997 James K Happ was the CFO of the Dallas-based Columbia Homecare Group, Inc. “In this role, he directed the company through the challenging reimbursement climate, known as the interim payment system, and participated in the divestiture of all of Columbia/HCA's home care operations” (SEC Form)
Columbia/HCA is a partnership of financier Richard Rainwater of Ft. Worth and lawyer Richard Scott. Scott was recently terminated by Darla Moore, the wife of Richard Rainwater and according to Fortune Magazine, the “Toughest Babe in the Business”. (Fortune)
Posted by susan golden on 05/04/2009 @ 06:19PM PT
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I used to work for HCA, and it was not until I became medically disabled and filed for disability that I learned that HCA had not sent my SS witholding to SSA.
Posted by Amy Ray on 05/05/2009 @ 10:10AM PT
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Well the debate has stirred up a hornest nest in the UK.
If you turn up at your doctor or hospital here, the first thing they want to do is treat you, not make sure you can pay for it. Whilst the British NHS has faults, it is a brilliant service that treats everyone and it treats them well. It is a fact that on the W.H.O list of medcal care that the USA is in 37th place which is almost 20 behind the UK which is in 18th place.
Don't listen to all the anti British propoganda it just ain't true !!!
Posted by Arthur Blundell on 08/14/2009 @ 03:28AM PT
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I saw a new commercial today by CPRIGHTS.ORG. It stated that new problems would evolve with the passage of a "public option". It stated that there would be no guarantees of service, coverage, etc. Helloooo that's what we have right now! Insurance companies are allowed to drop people, and to accept only those with no pre-existing health conditions. This is not working as it stands now. Something has to be done. My parents have medicare right now. It's the best insurance they have ever had. I see nothing wrong with starting a new public option for other age groups. I would definately buy into the program. I tried visiting CPRIGHTS.ORG to let them know what I think, but there was no place to leave a comment or any email address for contacting them. What a bunch of scoundrels...
Posted by B Strathern on 09/10/2009 @ 04:55PM PT
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