Anti Healthcare leaders include ex CEO who's company defrauded Medicare

[think]

FYI:

Please be advised as to who some of the major players in the attack against health care reform are and the tactics they use.

Rick Scott is one of the largest financial backers of Conservatives for Patients Rights, a group who's soul purpose is to defeat health care reform. Rick Scott was CEO of Columbia/HCA health-care company but left shortly before the company was fined $1,700,000,000 (That's 1.7 BILLION) for fraudulently overcharging state and federal health plans.

From the United States Department of Justice:

"Health care providers and professionals hold a public trust, and when that trust is violated by fraud and abuse of program funds, and by the payment of kickbacks to the physicians on whom patients and the programs rely for uncompromised medical judgment, health care for all Americans suffers," Robert D. McCallum, Jr., Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division said. "This settlement brings to a close the largest multi-agency investigation of a health care provider that the United States government has ever undertaken and demonstrates the Department of Justice's ongoing resolve and commitment to pursue all types of fraud on American taxpayers, and health care program beneficiaries."

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/June/03_civ_386.htm

Rick Scott has invested $5 million of his own money and $15 million from other interests to kill health care reform:

Scott, a multimillionaire investor and controversial former hospital chief executive, has become an unlikely and prominent leader of the opposition to health-care reform plans that Congress is expected to take up later this year. While disorganized Republicans and major health-care companies wait for President Obama and Democratic leaders to reveal the details of their plan before criticizing it, Scott is using $5 million of his own money and up to $15 million more from supporters to try to build resistance to any government-run program.

The campaign is being coordinated by CRC Public Relations, the group that masterminded the "Swift boat" attacks against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry, and is inspired by the "Harry and Louise" ads that helped torpedo health-care reform during the Clinton administration.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...s=rss_politics

Rick Scott not only works to consolidate (close) hospitals and bilk the American taxpayers but he is also involved with companies helping Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Sudan, And Tunisia censor their citizens:

Disgraced Columbia/HCA executive Richard L. "Rick" Scott has been in the media lately for spearheading Conservatives for Patients Rights, an organization adamantly opposed to health care reform. In addition to the fraudulent practices of his former empire, Scott serves on the boards of two companies that helped the Saudi Arabian and Iranian regimes suppress their citizens by censoring access to the Internet.

http://mediamattersaction.org/factcheck/200905120009

While your at it you might want to check out other top supporters of the anti health care movement like ex US Senator Dick Armey, and his involvement with DLA Piper and FreedomWorks.org:

Rachel Maddow from MSNBC does an excellent job of investigative journalism by outing FreedomWorks.org as Dick Armey's front for the public relations firm DLA Piper which does public relations for companies in the health care industry. In other words Dick Armey was using FreedomWorks.org, a grass roots conservative group, to carry out the goals of his lobbying firm for their health care and other clients:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhoOkp0dfBM

Dick Armey has just left DLA Piper due to being exposed by Rachel Maddow for using Freedomworks.org in collusion with the lobbying firm.

Ironically Rachel Maddow and Dick Armey are both guests on Meet the Press this Sunday to discuss health care. It should be interesting.

The fact that thieves and health care defrauders like Rick Scott can pump millions of dollars into lobbying and disrupt town hall meetings with the goal of defeating responsible health care reform is reprehensible. I hope those Americans that are getting emails, mail packets, and phone calls from these fake grass roots groups understand who they are working for.......

[Gerry]

Thank you for posting this.

This company that he founded, Columbia/HCA, sole's purpose was to buy struggling hospitals and put on a good front. Yet, behind the scenes they essentially would dismantle the internal infrastructure by combining departments, eliminating positions, and staffing via some magical matrix - x number of nurses and care givers per patient.

The goal was to get costs and overhead to an absolute bare minimum while bilking the system of funds. This company was nothing more than a cash cow for Rick Scott and others in the organization. It is no secret that healthcare costs rake in an incredible portion of this country's GDP and they wanted a piece of the pie.

They defrauded Medicare and us, US citizens, of billions of dollars of healthcare funds. They quickly became the largest "chain" of hospitals in the country.

A close friend of mine recalls working one day when FBI agents walked into her office and told them to leave the facility and take nothing with them except for personal belongings. This happened all across the country at hundreds of hospitals as the FBI siezed computers, files, and records.

The upper echelon of Columbia/HCA were arrested and led out of their fancy glass towers in handcuffs and paraded before the press.

[think]

Thank you for posting this.

This company that he founded, Columbia/HCA, sole's purpose was to buy struggling hospitals and put on a good front. Yet, behind the scenes they essentially would dismantle the internal infrastructure by combining departments, eliminating positions, and staffing via some magical matrix - x number of nurses and care givers per patient.

The goal was to get costs and overhead to an absolute bare minimum while bilking the system of funds. This company was nothing more than a cash cow for Rick Scott and others in the organization. It is no secret that healthcare costs rake in an incredible portion of this country's GDP and they wanted a piece of the pie.

They defrauded Medicare and us, US citizens, of billions of dollars of healthcare funds. They quickly became the largest "chain" of hospitals in the country.

A close friend of mine recalls working one day when FBI agents walked into her office and told them to leave the facility and take nothing with them except for personal belongings. This happened all across the country at hundreds of hospitals as the FBI siezed computers, files, and records.

The upper echelon of Columbia/HCA were arrested and led out of their fancy glass towers in handcuffs and paraded before the press.

The additional information on Columbia/HCA is much appreciated Doc. It makes it very obvious that Rick Scott concerns are based on amassing his personal fortune while screwing the American people rather than for promoting quality health care. Like most of us I have nothing against rational debate about the future of health care in America. But when people who are known to have scammed the American people and our government go out to purposely disrupt the debate and confuse Americans with fear tactics I believe they need to be called out for who they are.

There are many views on health care and there are conservative views out there that are well thought out and articulate. Although I tend to disagree with Ron Paul and conservative view points on the governments role in health care, I do believe this op ed piece by Dr. Andrew Weil posted on DailyPaul.com and left leaning HuffingtonPost.com represents the kind of useful information that a true conservative should be bringing to the debate.

Dr. Weil's discusses many conservative things his institute, the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, is doing that should be considered by those framing the health care plan in congress:

While billions of dollars are shunted into very few pockets via such abuses, insurance premiums skyrocket, leaving 47 million Americans with no coverage. The result of medicine's libertine spree? The relief agency Remote Area Medical, established to bring health care to rural parts of third-world nations, now sends 60 percent of its missions to U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, California and Knoxville, Tennessee.

By contrast, integrative medicine (IM), the system we teach at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson (and that is taught at more than 40 other medical schools nationwide including Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic) is profoundly conservative in at least three ways:

1. It is philosophically conservative in that it aims to restore core values of medicine that were strong in the past, such as a reverence for the healing power of nature and the importance of the therapist-patient relationship.

2. It is medically conservative in stressing prevention and advocating lesser rather than greater intervention -- the least invasive, least harmful, least expensive treatments that the circumstances of illness demand. IM practitioners always observe the Hippocratic precept of "First, do no harm," relying in simpler interventions whenever possible and turning to more drastic ones only when the former fail to produce desired outcomes.

3. It is fiscally conservative in its willingness to look beyond the blinders of high-tech medicine to identify inexpensive therapies that may be useful and in its insistence that they be held to the same standard for clinical- and cost-effectiveness in well-designed outcomes trials.

I urge Senator Frist and all Americans to join me and thousands of physicians and patients in demanding a return to sensible, sustainable, conservative values in medicine. The liberals have had their day.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew..._b_259869.html

http://www.dailypaul.com/node/103444

These are the kind of conservative ideas that I can appreciate in the health care debate. Where I disagree is I believe in the public option. The United States is the only industrialized nation left in the world not to offer some form of universal health care:

Universal health care is health care accessibility for all eligible residents of a political region and often covers medical, dental and mental health care. Typically, costs are borne in the majority by government-funded programs.

"Single-payer health insurance" is used to describe the primary systems of health care funding used in Canada and the United Kingdom. Multi-payer systems are used in France and Germany, but like Canada and the United Kingdom, health care in both of these countries is primarily financed by publicly controlled insurers.

Health care systems vary according to the extent of government involvement in providing care, ranging from nationalized health care systems (such as the U.K. and Sweden) to decentralized private or non-profit institutions (as in Germany and Canada). Universal health care is implemented in all industrialized countries, with the exception of the United States.[1] It is also provided in many developing countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care

Let's hope that health care reform can be discussed logically and pragmatically rather than people freaking out over lies that Obama wants to pull the plug on grandma and encouraging people to intentionally disrupt and confuse the discussion . Shame on the corporations, lobbyists, congressmen, and congresswomen who stoop to such levels........

[Gerry]

Lets face it, this is an opp for everyone's 15 minutes of fame. There is a whole new media out there and every one wants to go viral. I am close to turning the television off because this very thing - John or Jane Q. Public taking on da' man - is playing on all media outlets.

There is no discussion, no real issues being debated, this is a purposeful and deliberate "I'm on camera!" moment.

Unquestionably, remove the cameras and quit making every single hundreds of hometown townhall meetings - quit making them a damn media event.

I feel like I am watching Jerry Springer 24/7.

[Area52]

What proof exists that this bill will provide responsibile health care reform?

There are most certainly many legitimate professionals in healthcare that are not in favor of this bill.
Sounds like you are calling those people thieves and defrauders also, for not supporting this paticular bill.

I think the American people are much smarter than Obama or you give them credit for.
After recent events, it appears that most of Congress can not be trusted to act in the best interests of their constituents.
That is a major reason for citizen's discontent. Not the absurd accusations of an organized attempt to disrupt so called "town meetings".
Just the democratic party's obvious poor attempt at damage control.

It doesn't make fraud less of a crime, but the US govenment should share the blame if they get bilked with medicare billing.

Imo, the health care bill Obama is pushing is toast.
And so are alot of Congressional seats.

[Gerry]

What proof exists that this bill will provide responsibile health care reform?

There are most certainly many legitimate professionals in healthcare that are not in favor of this bill.
Sounds like you are calling those people thieves and defrauders also, for not supporting this paticular bill.

I think the American people are much smarter than Obama or you give them credit for.

I am not in favor of this bill until I know the particulars.

Do you?

Hell no.

Yet you want to claim that there are many legitimate professionals in healthcare that are not in favor of this bill? And you base this on what - they told you so?

Did you read this? Are you going to read this?

Give americans credit? For what? Here is where the lines get real blurry...

I want healthcare coverage
I want medical coverage
I don't want to pay for it
I want the government to give it to me
but I don't want the government to tell me what to do....


See the issue?

The emphasis should not be on taking care of your obese, pork rind eating, cigarette smoking fat lazy ass.

It needs to be placed on prevention. But no one wants to or will go to the doctor unless they have to. By then, it may be too late and too damn costly.

I am not trying to sell you or anyone else on a healthcare bill or anything that you are not familiar with, have read, have reviewed, or sat down with someone knowledgable enough to explain it to you.

Give amercians credit? Perhaps Americans need to put some of that "giving credit" onto themselves to get off their lazy asses, get fit and healthy.

The next time you are at one of these feeding troughs called Golden Corral or some other all you can eat buffets, look around and see what people are eating. Try to guess the ages and the weights of these people. Look at the kids... eating the same unhealthy bullshit that they can get anywhere while passing up all the real shit that is good for them. Look at their fat ass parents leading the herd to the fried shit spread out in front of them. Then watch that same family leave and head out the door. What is the first thing mom and dad do? Light up a ****ing cigarette.

Give me, give me, give me, give me...

that is the credit I give americans.

[JMJ]

Get fit and healthy. What a damn joke. To give you an example, if these people wanted you fit and healthy they wouldn't be asking newly formed governments such as Iraq to write GM foods into the constitution (which they did BTW). How do they make money from GM foods? All foods are patented... It's about money and that's all it is. They could give a shit less about whether you live or die as long as they can make a buck off of you while doing it.

Here's something for you to ponder over. Do you know why back in 1913 the people didn't fight the Federal Reserve Act? Because the bankers went out and acted as if they didn't want it to pass so it made the people think it was the right thing to do. Unknown to them that the bankers were the one's who created it. The insurance companies win either way. If no government health then business as usual. But the better option for them is government health. All profits are taken by them. All losses are taken by the public. Nice deal for them... Especially when most of them are on the verge of collapse. AIG ring a bell?

BTW Doc here's one for your preventive care cost savings basket

Congressional Budget Expert Says Preventive Care Will Raise -- Not Cut -- Costs
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpu...cut-costs.html

In other words. A bunch of hypochondriacs running to the doctor when their nose is running is very costly.

[ilovedomains]

FYI:
Rick Scott is one of the largest financial backers of Conservatives for Patients Rights, a group who's soul purpose is to defeat health care reform. Rick Scott was CEO of Columbia/HCA health-care company but left shortly before the company was fined $1,700,000,000 (That's 1.7 BILLION) for fraudulently overcharging state and federal health plans.

As a Canadian it makes my blood boil to see the lies and horsesh!t these creeps peddle to Americans about our health care system.

I know most Americans are too smart to fall for this crap, but they only have to convince a few million idiots (from both parties) that government health care is evil, and they can continue robbing all of you. The fact this sh!thead is still doing business should tell you how rotten the system really is.

[Gerry]

Honestly, it is too early to judge any of this. Personally and professionally.

When money is involved, there is always a paper trail.

There are too many issues involved here and too many lobbyists/special interest groups wanting either a piece of the pie or wanting their interests either "hands off" or to be included in passage of any new bill that would benefit them.

I am currently looking into rumors that a powerful pharmaceutical lobbyist who happens to be a former senator (believe it or not - a republican AND democratic) helped in wording this bill and secret dealings were done to leave the big pharmas alone. The pharmas and what they charge are a MAJOR reason to overhaul healthcare.

Also, regarding personal insurance - it is they who tell you what you can and can not do and who you can and can not see regarding your health. I do not know of this happening with medicare and medicaid which ARE government backed healthcare plans.

Essentially, private health insurance only wants to insure the healthy - not the sick or disabled.

[JMJ]

I am currently looking into rumors that a powerful pharmaceutical lobbyist who happens to be a former senator (believe it or not - a republican AND democratic) helped in wording this bill and secret dealings were done to leave the big pharmas alone. The pharmas and what they charge are a MAJOR reason to overhaul healthcare.

It's no rumor

Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_258285.html

Obama's Secret Deal With The Drugmakers
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009...he-drugmakers/

More and more are starting to see Obama for what he really is. A two-faced lying sack of cow dung. When will you guys catch on?

[HasRob]

I see a cash for healthcare program coming soon (:

[PRED]

so what happened to this individula and his company?
please tell me hes not still a millionaire as he operated 'within the law'
please tell me he's wearing an orange jumpsuit somewhere? holding teabags pocket somewhere so he dont get split open by 'mr big'
here's hoping

[think]

so what happened to this individula and his company?
please tell me hes not still a millionaire as he operated 'within the law'
please tell me he's wearing an orange jumpsuit somewhere? holding teabags pocket somewhere so he dont get split open by 'mr big'
here's hoping

No, Rick Scott is not in jail. He's doing interviews on TV, spending $5 million of his own cash plus $15 million more from others to defeat health care.

The company Columbia/HCA still exists though Rick Scott is no longer the CEO:

http://www.hcahealthcare.com/

[Gerry]

Meanwhile, however, Columbia/HCA had run into serious trouble. In March, 1997, the company's facility in El Paso, Texas, became the subject of a federal healthcare fraud investigation. The investigation was dramatically broadened in scope in July, when approximately 500 federal agents raided Columbia/HCA facilities in seven states. Focusing on Medicare-billing practices and home health operations, the investigation alarmed both investors and the company's board members. Near the end of July, at the urging of the company's board of directors, Scott resigned. At the same time, the company's president and COO, David Vandewater, also resigned. Scott was replaced as chairman and CEO by Dr. Thomas Frist, Jr., who had been at the helm of HCA when Scott acquired it.

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