Slick Rick Scott and Republican Scum

Criminal Rick Scott

Rick Scott is like many of today's Republicans in that he belongs in prison. Rick Scott is one of the biggest thieves in the history of the world. Beyond that he's a scumbag that rivals criminal Jeb Bush.

First, Gov. Rick Scott scared the bejesus out of seniors with an online ad claiming that Medicare rate cuts would lead them to lose access to their doctors, hospitals and preventive care.

Then, the Florida Democratic Party fired back at Scott, issuing a press release that called Scott "the ultimate Medicare thief."

The Democrats were referring to Scott’s prior tenure as CEO of Columbia/HCA about a decade ago, when the hospital company was fined $1.7 billion for Medicare fraud.

"Rick Scott is saying Democrats are committing Medicare robbery, when in fact he's the ultimate Medicare thief. He lost the right to accuse Democrats of raiding Medicare when he oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in the nation's history. Rick Scott's company stole money that should have gone to health care for seniors," said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Joshua Karp in the Feb. 25 press release.

Separately, Politifact has fact-checked Scott’s claim "we are seeing dramatic rate cuts" to Medicare that will affect people's choice of doctor, hospital and preventive care. We concluded that Scott had failed to say that the rate cut only applies to Medicare Advantage, and thus only affects a fraction of all Medicare beneficiaries. Also, it could be several months before we know the actual impact of the cut which could vary county by county. We rated Scott's claim Mostly False.

Here, we’ll fact-check the Democratic counter-attack that Scott "oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in the nation’s history."

Scott’s tenure at Columbia/HCA

During Scott’s 2010 race for governor, PolitiFact fact-checked multiple claims related to his tenure at Columbia/HCA. Now, we’ll recap some of our earlier discussion of the investigation and fine.

Scott started what was first Columbia in 1987, purchasing two El Paso, Texas, hospitals. Over the next decade he would add hundreds of hospitals, surgery centers and home health locations. In 1994, Scott’s Columbia purchased Tennessee-headquartered HCA and its 100 hospitals, and merged the companies.

In 1997, federal agents went public with an investigation into the company, first seizing records from four El Paso-area hospitals and then expanding across the country. The investigation focused on whether Columbia/HCA had committed Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

Scott resigned as CEO in July 1997, less than four months after the inquiry became public. Company executives said had Scott remained CEO, the entire chain could have been in jeopardy.

During his 2010 race, the Miami Herald reported that Scott had said he would have immediately stopped his company from committing fraud -- if only "somebody told me something was wrong." But there were such warnings in the company’s annual public reports to stockholders -- which Scott had to sign as president and CEO.

Scott wanted to fight the accusations, but the corporate board of the publicly traded company wanted to settle.

In December 2000, the U.S. Justice Department announced that Columbia/HCA agreed to pay $840 million in criminal fines, civil damages and penalties.

Among the revelations from the 2000 settlement:

• Columbia billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs for tests that were not necessary or had not been ordered by physicians;

• The company attached false diagnosis codes to patient records to increase reimbursement to the hospitals;

• The company illegally claimed non-reimbursable marketing and advertising costs as community education;

• Columbia billed the government for home health care visits for patients who did not qualify to receive them.

The government settled a second series of similar claims with Columbia/HCA in 2002 for an additional $881 million. The total for the two fines was $1.7 billion.

On Scott’s 2010 campaign website, he admitted to the $1.7 billion fine, though the link is no longer on the site.

What type of record was that fine?

The fine clearly set a record, though the Justice Department (and media reports at the time) were not always consistent in their terminology, sometimes describing it as the "largest government fraud settlement in U.S. History" and other times more specifically as the "largest health care fraud case in U.S. History."

A Justice Department spokeswoman said that officials refer to Columbia/HCA as "largest health care fraud" rather than the more narrow term "Medicare fraud" because it involved defrauding other government programs such as Medicaid rather than Medicare exclusively. The Justice Department described in detail the various ways the company defrauded Medicare and other government health programs here.

Here’s a key point, though: While the Columbia/HCA settlement was a record at the time for health care fraud, it has since been surpassed. In cases related to the improper promotion of certain drugs, Johnson & Johnson agreed to a a $2.2 billion settlement in 2013, Pfizer settled for $2.3 billion in 2009, and GlaxoSmithKlinesettled for $3 billion in 2012.

"HCA was the record health care fraud at the time. It’s now Glaxo," Justice Department spokeswoman Linda Mansour told PolitiFact in an email.

That said, these cases were a little different. While the Justice Department’s case against Columbia/HCA repeatedly mentions overbilling and defrauding Medicare and Medicaid specifically, the three newer cases focused on the marketing of drugs, with Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs caught up in the impropriety, rather than being the specific targets of the fraud.

Because the Justice Department press releases explaining the settlements don’t explicitly break down how much of the misconduct in those more recent cases defrauded Medicare explicitly, it’s difficult to make comparisons.

The Pfizer case includes violations relating to misbranding and kickbacks, "so there may be a distinction to be made for that reason when thinking about whether it all should be classified under the very general category of ‘Medicare fraud,’ " said Asha Scielzo, who practices health care law at the firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

The Columbia/HCA case "still is the largest fraud settlement for a hospital corporation in U.S. history," since all the others involved pharmaceutical firms, added Zack Buck, a health care law professor at Mercer. "So I guess, the quote (by the Florida Democratic Party) is a little loose."

The Scott campaign did not respond to an inquiry for this fact-check. However in 2010, Scott told the Tampa Bay Times, "There's no question that mistakes were made and as CEO, I have to accept responsibility for those mistakes. I was focused on lowering costs and making the hospitals more efficient. I could have had more internal and external controls. I learned hard lessons, and I've taken that lesson and it's helped me become a better business person and a better leader."

The Florida Democratic Party said Scott "oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in the nation’s history."

The Columbia/HCA settlement has since been surpassed in dollar value, though the bigger cases involved Medicare somewhat less directly. Because the Democratic Party could have been a bit more specific in its wording -- by saying that Scott oversaw the largest Medicare fraud at the time -- we rate the claim Mostly True.

Largest Criminal Fines

Pfizer Whistleblower Gets Huge Reward

It’s an amazing story and one worth talking about.  Gulf War veteran and former Pfizer sales representative John Kopchinski is getting $51 million dollars as a result of his whistleblowing lawsuit against Pfizer – the world’s biggest drug maker -- and that's big news.

Pfizer to Pay $2.3 Billion for Fraudulent Marketing 

According to a statement from the Justice Department,   Pfizer’s illegal practices in connection with its promotion of an anti-inflammatory drug called  Bextra is what got it into big trouble.

Pfizer also agreed to pay $1 billion to resolve allegations under the civil False Claims Act(also know as Qui Tam).

Under the Act, it is illegal to knowingly present a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the federal government or use a false or fraudulent record to get paid. 

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

Read more HERE

Criminal Rick Scott

Rick Scott, who ran a company involved in the nation's largest Medicare fraud case, became Florida's governor

May 20, 2010|By Sally Kestin, Sun Sentinel

It was and still is the biggest Medicare fraud case in U.S. history and ended with the hospital giant Columbia/HCA paying a record $1.7 billion in fines, penalties and damages.

Now the man who ran the company at the time wants to be Florida's governor.

Rick Scott was co-founder and CEO of Columbia/HCA in the 1990s, when the FBI launched a massive, multi-state investigation that led to the company pleading guilty to criminal charges of overbilling the government.

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

More Big Pharma Crimes

GlaxoSmithKline $3 billion ($1B crimimal, $2B civil) for the following violations

Criminal: Off-label promotion, failure to disclose safety data.
Civil: paying kickbacks to physicians, making false and misleading
statements concerning the safety of Avandia, reporting false best
prices and underpaying rebates owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program

Pfizer

$2.3 billion in fines

Off-label promotion/kickbacks

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

Abbott Laboratories

$1.5 billion in fines

Off-label promotion

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED

Eli Lilly

$1.4 billion

Off-label promotion

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED

TAP Pharmaceutical Products

$875 million

Medicare fraud/kickbacks

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED

Click HERE for more big pharma criminal activity

Johnson's Baby Shampoo Causes Cancer CLICK HERE

When Johnson & Johnson  agreed to pay $2.2 billion in civil and criminal fines last week for invalidly promoting one of its best-selling drugs of the past decade, Risperdal, it marked another victory for the Department of Justice’s campaign to root out off-label marketing. The multibillion settlement came in the wake of several outsized payouts the DOJ has extracted from other pharmaceutical giants in recent years for similar wrongdoing. Despite the gaudy sums, however, it’s unlikely that the industry will curb its reliance on off-label prescriptions. The practice is simply too lucrative to pass up.

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

Are you noticing a pattern here? I am not only referring to the fact that none of the corporate gangsters were arrested, I am referring to the fact that the biggest corporate crimes are committed by medical corporations. 

What would you say if 10 of the top 26 pharmaceutical companies had been telling you bold faced lies about the drugs they sell you? Would you be upset? Irritated? Maybe on a good day, bemused? According to 2 papers published by one of the most prestigious medical journals - The New England Journal of Medicine - even seemingly-astronomical fines aren't keeping Big Pharma honest.  READ MORE HERE...

(NaturalNews) In 2012, five pharmaceutical companies agreed to pay nearly $5.5 billion to settle allegations of fraud, including promotion of medicines for uses not approved by the FDA. The settlements represent the continued trend of record-breaking fines, settlements and lawsuits which have become a routine part of doing business for Big Pharma.

Between 2004 and 2010, major drug companies paid out $7 billion in fines, penalties and lawsuits for fraudulently marketing their drugs, making misleading claims about the drugs safety and hiding or altering studies which indicated evidence of harm. The threat of massive payouts does not appear to offer much deterrent.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/041261_Big_Pharma_settlements_fines.html#ixzz347CF41QH

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

Related: TOP 9 Big Pharma Fines Click HERE

Hospitals Are Run By Elite Criminals 

Pacific Health Corporation Hospital Chain Fined $7 Million for Bouncing Employee Payroll Checks And Not Sending Payroll Deductions To Insurance Companies

Pacific Health Corporation was involved in the medical billing scam with using the Homeless.  The corporation pleaded guilty and paid $16.5 million in which 3 of the company hospitals were involved.  Also there’s Anaheim General which was bought by Pacific Health who a few years ago lost and then regained their accreditation.  Here’s a couple back links on the history.

Anaheim General Hospital Up for Sale – Booted The CEO, Got Our Accreditation Back And Are Ready to Start Taking Offers…

Patient Dumping Back in the News – Hospital to Pay fine

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

Learn more HERE...

Hospital chain to pay $275,000 to settle federal patient ...

California Hospital Chain Fined $16.5 Million For Fraud ...

IAPP : Healthcare Chain Fined $95,000 for Breaches

Hospital chain accused of Medicare overbilling - Encore ...

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

A billion dollars paid Click HERE 

ECHN suitor paid sum for overbilling, fraud, kickback allegations

The big for-profit hospital chain from Texas negotiating to buy Eastern Connecticut Health Network has paid more than $1 billion over the last decade to settle a series of fraud, overbilling, kickback, and other allegations by its biggest customer: the federal government.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. also agreed to pay more than half as much — $641 million — to settle hundreds of civil lawsuits as well as an additional $80 million to pay back taxes after an IRS audit.

The payments included $395 million to settle unnecessary surgery complaints involving 769 cardiac patients at a California hospital, $215 million to settle federal class-action lawsuits by investors, and $31 million to end lawsuits on behalf of 106 heart surgery patients at a Florida hospital.

The latter said they suffered severe post-operative infections at the hospital that Florida regulators fined $95,000 for improper infection control after 20 patients died.

The six settlements Tenet made since 2003 with the U.S. Justice Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Securities and Exchange Commission pre-empted civil or criminal charges against the company and stopped its facilities from being excluded from the federal Medicare program.

On at least two of those occasions, Tenet made the agreements without admitting liability or wrongdoing.

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

AND NOBODY EVER GETS ARRESTED! Welcome to Korporate Amerika

Criminal Rick Scott

The asshole voters of Florida may once again elect criminal Rick Scott. Criminal Rick Scott should not only be in jail he should tried for treason but as bad as Rick Scott is, the voters who would elect him are far worse. 

Knowing that Rick Scott was criminal of Al Capone stature Florida voters gave gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott the nod of approval in the November 2, 2010 elections. However, Scott who beat Alex Sink in the Florida Governor’s race, admitted to 14 counts of Medicare fraud and paid the federal government more than $600 million dollars in fines for his fraudulent billing practices. Details on Rick Scott's massive criminal activity.

Florida is a fucking shit hole among states.  Florida medical gangsters commit more fraud than in Texas and California combined.

Slick Rick's Rap Sheet

Southern District of Florida (Miami) -- Columbia Homecare Group Inc., a subsidiary of Columbia, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to violate the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute involving its fraudulent business in the purchase and operation of home health agencies and fraudulent billing of Medicare for management and personnel costs. The criminal fine is $3.36 million;

Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) -- Columbia Homecare Inc. will plead guilty to one count of violating the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute related to purchase of home health agencies. The criminal fine is $3.36 million;

Department of Justice Criminal Fraud Section -- Another subsidiary, Columbia Management Companies Inc., will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to make and use false writings and documents in connection with its fraudulent "upcoding" of bills to Medicare for patients diagnosed with certain types of pneumonia. The criminal fine is $27.5 million. This investigation was based in Nashville, Tennessee;

Middle District of Florida (Tampa) -- Columbia Homecare Group will plead guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and one count of conspiracy to violate the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute in connection with the purchase and operation of home health agencies. The criminal fine is $8.4 million. Also, Columbia Management Companies will plead guilty to eight counts of making false statements to the U.S. in connection with the submission of false cost reports to Medicare. The fine amount is $22.6 million; and,

Western District of Texas (El Paso) -- Columbia Homecare Group will plead to a conspiracy to pay kickbacks and other monetary benefits to doctors in violation of the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute. The criminal fine is $30.1 million.

Rick Scott "was forced to resign as the head of a company that pled guilty to massive amounts of systematic fraud, including 14 felonies, leading to a historic $1.7 billion fine."

Boycott Florida

There are a lot of reasons to boycott Florida.

1. Rick Scott is the criminal governor of Florida. The moron voters elected him in spite of his extensive criminal past at Columbia HCA.

2. The Casey Anthony verdict. A retarded child hating jury acquitted a slime slut pig whore that everyone knew was guilty as sin.

3. The George Zimmerman verdict: A bunch of racist moron aquitted another child killer.

4. Florida oranges suck. They have thick skins and when you peel them the fruit is small and bitter.

5. They cheated in the 2000 election that put the Bush/Cheney regime into power.

6. Florida is famous for voter suppression.

7. The cost of vacationing there is way way way over priced.

Click her to see how people worldwide are boycotting Florida.

Florida is not a safe place to take your family for vacation as long as Florida law permits a citizen to shoot or kill you for merely looking suspicious, and to do it with impunity. Boycott Florida tourism until this dangerous law is overturned. If the murder of Trayvon Martin isn't enough to get lawmaker's attention, maybe a loss in revenue to the state would be.

Over a thousand signees from South Korea, Italy, and the 49 other U.S. states chimed in to express their discontent with the Sunshine State:

"Florida, clean up your act or I won't be back!"

"Ever thought of seceding? You and Texas would make a lovely couple..."

"Why in the world would we vacation in a place that allows people to kill someone so casually?"

"Clearly the legislative, executive and judicial branches of of state and local government in Florida are not interested in either justice or public safety. I'm never going there again."

Once 2,000 signatures are collected, the message will be sent to the Florida House, Senate, and Governor Rick Scott.

Florida has been a cesspool of coruption for many decades and its largest city is no exception. Perhaps the most important book documenting the moral occification of Miami Florida is Miami A Survivor's Tale by critically acclaimed author and lawyer Frank Abrams and published by Black Mountian Press.

What People are Saying:

"Flailing the air with the sharp-wit of coconut machete words, Frank Abrams cuts the head square off Miami, nestles it under his arm, and boldly walks through the Headless City, talking to himself. Everywhere people stare, eyes dumbed down, as plaintiff cries, barking dogs, gunshots and real estate developers drown together in a sunburned stew of history gone awry. Frank's unique perch as a 1950s-era home boy haunted by a strange calling to get the hell out and his career as a lawyer to the most unusually downtrodden folk in America, give grace and substance to this mass of anecdotes about survival in the City That Never Weeps. No one has captured this history quite like Frank Abrams. Promises unkept, hurricanes unleashed, fraud that makes Baby Doc look like the Pope, drugs and pussy galore, road rage and riots amore, the explosion of multi-cultural egomania -- it's all in this fast-paced manuscript which, at its core, tells the simple story of one family's struggle to survive Miami, ladeeez and gentlemen and children of all ages, as it vanishes before their very eyes." - Peter B. Gallagher, award winning Poet and Writer

Publisher: the Black Mountain Press, Asheville, NC ISBN 9780970016515Library of Congress Control Number: 201394263

Click Here to buy a pre-publication copy with a 25% discount!

Another Big Reason To Boycott Florida
Stand Your Ground Marissa Alexander click here

Marissa Alexander has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Marissa is the victim here. Her husband beat her while she was pregnant. After yet another beating, Alexander fired a warning shot which traveled through a wall and into the ceiling. That shot saved her life. 

Wish cancer on this filthy Nazi and the POS judge and jury.

Scumbag Prosecutor Angela Corey did not take into account that Marissa Alexander: Had a court injunction against her crazed husband,Had Given Birth 9 Days Earlier,Was trained to use a weapon and earned a concealed weapons permit.

Coming Soon the Twinkie Report:

Bigger Fatter Politics is conducting exhaustive research on the Twinkie situation. Keep watching Bigger Fatter Politics for more news on Twinkie Gate.

Florida Republicans Admit Voter Fraud

Republicans claim Fla. GOP suppressed Democratic vote

Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer has been claiming for months that state party members engineered a new law to suppress voter turnout, falsely touting voter fraud concerns to advance their mission. Now, other former Republicans and consultants are backing Greer up, The Palm Beach Post reports.

Greer, who is under a retaliatory indictment and falsely accused of funneling campaign funds from the Republican Party, has been claiming that state Republicans supported a law (HB 1355)—which, in part, curtailed early voting—simply as a means to stymie the Democratic vote.

Staff and consultants "never came in to see me and tell me we had a (voter) fraud issue," Greer told the newspaper. "It's all a marketing ploy."

Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, GOP consultant Wayne Bertsch and one unnamed consultant now tell the newspaper that state Republicans and consultants were actively seeking ways to suppress Democratic turnout following the 2008 election.

"I know that the cutting out of the Sunday before Election Day was one of their targets only because that's a big day when the black churches organize themselves," the anonymous longtime GOP consultant told the newspaper.

Lying Republican state officials tried to discredit Greer as a disgruntled former Republican. Greer, in a deposition filed against the party this summer, accused leaders of working to suppress black turnout and made other damning claims.

Crist is also regarded as an enemy of the GOP following his party switch, his decision to back President Barack Obama for re-election this year, and his subsequent attacks on his former party. This past summer, Crist lambasted the Florida GOP for backing new laws that applied more restrictive voter ID requirements.

Republicans dishonestly claim that Greer was not privy to the alleged meetings, that the discussions that he claimed took place never happened, and that the GOP did not seek to suppress turnout—a potentially illegal act but as we all know most Republicans are treasonous liars.

More Republican Voter Fraud