More Health Care Reform Scare Tactics: A 30-Minute Infomercial
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Sunday, the group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights—the extremists trying to sink President Obama’s health care reform efforts—bought 30 minutes of Sunday morning network talk show airtime for a so-called documentary.
In reality, it was a paid infomercial featuring “horror stories” about the Canadian and British health care systems and warning us the U.S. government is about to take over health care here. The production values may have been high, but the truth factor was zilch.
Of course, that should not come as too much of a surprise when the well-paid hack behind the outfit is Rick Scott, who has a $5 million stake in the group’s drive to derail health care reform, according to the Washington Post.
Health Care Reform Opponent Outed: Scott a Hospital CEO With Shady Past
The former CEO of Columbia/Hospital Corporation of America who was forced to resign in 1997 amid fraud charges, as well as the group that launched the infamous “Swift Boat” attack on the 2004 presidential bid of Sen. John Kerry, are now trying to sink health care reform.
But Health Care for America NOW! (HCAN), which supports health care reform, last week launched a television ad (left) detailing the “dubious past in the health care industry” of anti-health care reform front man Rick Scott.
According HCAN, after Scott was forced to resign from the health care giant in the wake of fraud charges, Columbia/HCA agreed to pay $1.7 billion in fines and penalties—the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history.
Workers Skimp on Health Care While Greedy Millionaires Fight Real Reform
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Here’s the latest example of how far corporations will go to stop real health care reform. Rick Scott, a multimillionaire, is putting $5 million of his own fortune into an ad campaign against President Obama’s health care plan. But what Scott doesn’t say in his ads is that he ran a company that had to pay the largest fine in history for Medicare fraud.
According to The New York Times, Scott was ousted as head of Columbia/HCA by his own board of directors in 1997 amid the nation’s biggest health care fraud scandal. The company pleaded guilty and paid $1.7 billion to settle charges, including the overbilling of state and federal Medicare programs.
Scott’s plan for a market-driven health care system likely won’t find much support among the millions of Americans who work every day and have to choose between buying groceries or taking care of serious health issues. Workers like “mosnowbird,” who is losing his sight but can’t afford to visit a doctor.
