Conservatives for Patients' Rights

Former Hospital Executive Rick Scott Launched Conservatives for Patients' Rights. In 2009, former hospital executive Richard Scott launched Conservatives for Patients' Rights, a $20 million effort to kill progressive health care reform. [Wall Street Journal, 2/6/2009]

CPR Pushing Supporters To Attend Congressional Town Halls Over August Recess.  Conservatives for Patients' Rights has posted a list of congressional town halls to be held over August recess "as a resource for our visitors." [Conservativesforpatientsrights.org, accessed 8/4/2009]

CPR Is Funded By Rick Scott.  Scott started Conservatives for Patients' Rights "with $5 million of his own cash." The Washington Post reported that CPR is "bankrolled by ousted Columbia/HCA chief Rick Scott..." [Politico, 3/3/2009; Washington Post, 6/7/2009]

CPR Campaign Orchestrated by Swift Boat Public Relations Team. According to the Washington Post, CPR's campaign "to build resistance to any government-run program...is being coordinated by CRC Public Relations, the group that masterminded the 'Swift boat' attacks against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry." [Washington Post, 5/11/2009]

CPR Pushes False Attacks About Health Care Reform.  The fact-checking website Politifact.com has rated Conservatives for Patients' Rights statements about health care reform, "Barely True." [Politifact.com, accessed 8/5/2009]

Under Rick Scott, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Pled Guilty To Fraud Charges Following Seven Year And Multi-State Investigation. According to Forbes.com: "Yesterday, the nation's largest hospital chain, known until recently as Columbia/HCA Healthcare, pleaded guilty to a variety of fraud charges. It admitted to bilking various government programs and agreed to pay a total of $840 million in fines and penalties. The fraud settlement is the largest in U.S. history, breaking the old record held by Drexel Burnham...The guilty plea follows a seven-year federal investigation that resulted in charges being filed in five different federal courts in Florida, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, where HCA is headquartered. The fraud revealed by that investigation ran deep within HCA's way of doing business." [Forbes.com, 12/15/00]

 

  • Columbia/HCA Paid "More Than $1.7 Billion In Civil And Criminal Penalties."  The New York Times reported that under an agreement with the Justice Department, HCA would pay $630 million in fines and penalties to resolve all outstanding civil litigation with the Justice Department. An additional $250 million would be paid by HCA to the Medicare program to resolve expense claims submitted by the company to the government...Combined with previous settlements HCA has negotiated with the government involving fraud accusations -- including its agreement in 2000 to plead guilty to 14 felonies -- the company will be paying a total of more than $1.7 billion in civil and criminal penalties, by far the largest amount ever secured by federal prosecutors in a health care fraud case." [New York Times, 12/18/2002]

Rick Scott Forced To Resign Amid Fraud Charges. According to Forbes: "The investigation and the plea is an obvious blow to a company that became a Wall Street darling by promising to bring first-class business practices to the hospital sector, still dominated by not-for-profits. Under former Chief Executive Richard Scott, it bought hospitals by the bucketful and promised to squeeze blood from each one. Scott was forced to resign in the wake of the initial fraud charges in 1997." [Forbes, 12/15/00]
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