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tazzygirl -> RE: Real Astroturf vs. The Fake Stuff (8/6/2009 1:11:21 PM)
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To bring it back on track....
The CPR has taken credit for the uproars at Town Hall Meetings
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/cpr-administers-bad-facts-again/
quote:
CPR Administers Bad Facts, Again
The group says premiums could nearly double for those who buy their own insurance. Experts we consulted disagree.
August 3, 2009
Summary
The latest ad from the group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights claims that "new rules could hike your health insurance premiums 95 percent." That’s misleading.
From here, a link that may be interesting....
quote:
Furthermore, the analysis on which CPR bases its claim comes from an advocacy association of insurance providers that says its mission is to "promote free market solutions" to America’s health care challenges. Member companies specialize in, among other areas, the individual market. Its analysis focuses only on proposed rules that could raise premiums, while failing to consider provisions of the House and Senate health care bills that would lower premiums, especially for those who would be buying policies as individuals.
http://www.cahi.org/cahi_contents/about/index.asp
quote:
Council for Affordable Health Insurance
Who We Are
The Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) is a research and advocacy association of insurance carriers active in the individual, small group, HSA and senior markets. CAHI's membership includes insurance companies, small businesses, providers, nonprofit associations, actuaries, insurance brokers and individuals. Since 1992, CAHI has been an active advocate for market-oriented solutions to the problems in America's health care system.
Now.. who is CPR?
Their site...
http://www.cprights.org/
Not too bad a site.
http://www.cprights.org/pdf/RickScottBio.pdf
quote:
Richard L. Scott
A Lifelong Advocate For Patient Rights
Born in Bloomington, Illinois and raised in Kansas City, MO, Richard Scott is considered
one of America’s foremost health care entrepreneurs. The son of a truck driver and JC
Penney clerk, Scott has spent his career working to provide innovative, affordable, high
quality health care services by emphasizing a patient-centric approach to cost and care.
Scott is the founder of two health care providers, Columbia Hospital Corporation and
Solantic Corporation, and he currently serves as Chairman of Solantic, which builds and
operates innovative, cost and service conscious urgent care facilities throughout Florida.
He owns a company I have worked for... and my mother worked for. Not too bad a business man.
http://www.cprights.org/pdf/FastFactsAboutRickScott.pdf
Started Columbia Hospital in 1987, buying two hospitals in El Paso, Texas with an
initial equity investment of $125,000.
Columbia bought HCA, Inc. in 1994, adding 100 hospitals to the company. The
company changed its name to Columbia/HCA.
Under Rick’s leadership, Columbia/HCA became the world’s largest private health
care provider, employing more than 285,000 people and revenues of more than $20
billion in 1997.
In 1997, Business Week named Columbia one of the 50 Best Performing Companies
of the S&P 500.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lynn_Scott
quote:
Scott founded the Columbia Hospital Corporation in 1987, but was ousted by the company's board of directors in 1997 in the midst of the nation's biggest health care fraud scandal, which involved alleged Medicaid and Medicare fraud.[1][2] In 2001, Scott co-founded the Solantic Corporation, which operates walk-in medical care centers. He also owns Continental Structural Plastics, North America's largest industrial composites molder.
No clue if he was implicated... nor does it matter for this discussion.
Both of the following are interesting.. for different reasons.
quote:
In the 1990s, Scott was a partner of George W. Bush in ownership of the Texas Rangers. He was also a vice-chairman of The Business Council.
quote:
Scott has recently been linked to a company which both Iran and Saudi Arabia use to enforce internet censorship. Scott sits on the board of Secure Computing. Media Matters released a document detailing Scott's links to the internet monitoring company, which has been used by these regimes in order to suppress internet communication. Reporters Without Borders, in 2001, produced a report which stated: "According to Secure Computing, this software makes it possible to block millions of websites in over 60 categories. It is therefore easy for the Iranian government to block websites for political reasons."[25]
quote:
In February 2009, Scott founded Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR), which he said was intended to put pressure on U.S. Democrats to enact health care legislation based on free-market principles.[26]. As of March, Scott had given about $5 million for a planned $20 million ad campaign by CPR.[27] CPR opposes the broad outlines of President Obama's health-care plans, and has hired Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm which previously worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
seems there was no CPR before Obama laid out his plan... again.. interesting... coupled with his relationship with Bush.. perhaps even more so.
http://mediamattersaction.org/blog/200906240003
quote:
Anyone familiar with Rick Scott, Conservatives for Patients Rights (CPR), and/or the Columbia/HCA hospital system knows that $100 million is just a drop in the bucket compared to the fine Scott's Columbia/HCA paid for defrauding Medicare.
Rick Scott's company, Columbia/HCA, paid a $1.7 billion settlement after pleading guilty to several charges. The fraud was so rampant under Scott's leadership that some documents were brazenly "stamped with warnings that they should not be disclosed to Medicare auditors," "some hospitals were knowingly inflating the numbers reported to the Government in the cost report to improperly raise total compensation," and they "improperly included expenses for employee picnics, Christmas gifts and food for nonemployees at social functions as expenditures related to patient care in the cost report for its headquarters."
Columbia/HCA pled guilty to "overcharging the government," "exaggerating the seriousness of the illnesses" of patients, and giving doctors kickbacks in order to receive higher Medicare payments. Well done. It takes a special kind of person to steal money from a program that helps hardworking Americans.
It's funny (in a twisted way) that with all the arguments against health care reform based on the government's record of "waste, fraud, and abuse," that these private entities are taking such liberties with Medicare funding.
Note: When Rick Scott is asked about the fraud his company committed, he always answers that he was never charged with any crimes. Correct. But to try to convince Americans that he was unaware of his company's activity is a stretch. That's like a coach trying to claim ignorance about which plays his team runs on the field.
–Melinda Warner
Again, he is right, he was never charged.
http://mediamattersaction.org/factcheck/200904280006
quote:
Scott Has Been An Active GOP Contributor
Richard L. Scott Has Donated More Than $63,000 To Republican Political Candidates. According to CQMoneyline.com, Richard L. Scott of Florida, Tennessee, and Texas has donated at least $63,500 to political campaigns since 1989. The figure includes $2,300 given to the Presidential campaign of Governor Mitt Romney in December 2007 and another $2,300 given to the Presidential campaign of Senator John McCain in March 2008. [CQMoneyline.com, accessed 2/27/09]
Richard L. Scott Donated More Than $30,000 To John McCain. According to the financial records of Campaign Money, Richard L. Scott donated at least $45,000 to Republican candidates and committees during the 2008 election cycle:
•McCain Victory Committee: -$2,300, 6/29/08
•McCain Victory Committee: $30,800, 5/7/08
•John McCain 2008, Inc: $2,300, 3/11/08
•Republican Party of Florida: $10,000, 3/6/08
•McConnell Senate Committee '08: $2,000, 12/14/07
•Romney for President, Inc: $2,300, 12/12/07
[CampaignMoney.com, accessed 2/27/09]
quote:
Richard L. Scott Had A Reputation For Dismissing The Needs Of The Community. NurseWeek.com reported: "'Rick Scott created a public relations nightmare for himself. He created an image, which may or may not be fair, of a grand buccaneer,' said Paul Torrens, MD, MPH, professor of health services management at the UCLA School of Public Health. 'His arrogance and disdain for concern for communities, which had been a part of health care, are appalling.'" [NurseWeek.com, 9/10/97]
now.. is anything clicking yet? hmmm? perhaps that he was dragged before a congressional hearing and ousted from his prime job during the Clinton administration?
now, of course, with a man this smart, and he is indeed smart, i would hope that was not his only reason to be doing as he is doing. However, he is quickly becoming a joke for his outlandish lies and twisting of the truth.. seems the swift boating is running rampant.
and, this site might tie it in a bit closer
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/politics/02scott.html?_r=1
i can possibly see why the Dems think the Republicans are behind this man... its personal for Scott, in my opinion, on more than one level.
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