"The immorality of morality": Bill Frist and HCA holdings.

http://www.politicalgateway.com/main/columns/read.html?col=338
This article is from April 18, 2005.

SNIP..."Recently the Bush Justice Department suddenly ended a near-decade long federal investigation into how HCA for years had defrauded Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare (the federal program that covers the military and their families), giving the greedy health-care behemoth’s executives a sweetheart settlement that kept them out of a Federal Correctional Institution.

By the way HCA Inc. (Hospital Corporation of America), the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country, was founded by Frist’s father and brother."

SNIP..."The deal that was struck had HCA agreeing to pay the government $631 million in fines. That, on top of previous fines, brought the total government penalties against the health-care conglomerate to a whopping $1.7 billion, the largest fraud settlement in history, breaking the old record set by Drexel Burnham. Perhaps even more important than the record fines and penalties, in making the deal, HCA protected its ability to continue to participate in Medicare.

This case was referred to by Deputy Assistant FBI Director Thomas Kubic as ".....one of the FBI’s highest-priority white-collar crime investigations."

There were no criminal charges brought against any of the top HCA executives who presided over the illegal bilking of federal programs designed to aid the poor. That also included Senator Frist’s brother, Thomas, HCA’s former CEO and currently a director. Thomas Frist has been described by Forbes magazine as "one of the richest men in America," with a personal fortune estimated at close to $2 billion."

SNIP..."And while Senator Frist did not directly participate in the bilking of the American taxpayer, no one can doubt for one minute he was either directly or indirectly behind the deal of a lifetime for a corporation he and his wife hold $26 million in the company’s stock. While it is in a so-called "blind trust," the value of the stock is still an asset to a man who used his family’s money to help him secure his place in the Senate...."

"Now that he is in the Senate, Frist has certainly used his influence to further HCA’s cause by stopping a strong patients’ bill of rights, grid locking a mandatory Medicare prescription-drug benefit, and promoting caps on damages for victims who sue negligent hospitals like HCA."

Oh, and don't forget the Filibuster Against Frist at Princeton. Rush Holt is joining them.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_04_24.php#005545

and he doesn't care about the pain, suffering and worry that these victims go through when a wrong operation is performed, or when their disease is misdiagnosed or when a careless doctor/nurse/caretakeer kills their loved one due to neglect in job performance. It's typical of the rich/RW freeps - step all over everybody else just for money and power.

A trauma nurse friend told me that there is a web site (blog?) with nothing but Frist jokes, gags, one liners, cartoons? I do not have a link, does any DUer have a link.

Then there's the one liner about "Frist Cams" - every doc, nurse, trauma unit, and ICU will have these "Frist Cams" - so Frist can do "Distance Diagnosis" on every patient - images come right to his Senate desk - a skill he perfected on Terri Schiavo.

Then there's Al Franken's line from Wednesday - that Frist did a "Distance Tele Diagnosis" of Jeb - and decided with all of the early stage disease processes poor Jeb is showing - he definitely should not run for President in 08.

BTW- doesn't the Doc in Denzel Washington's "John Q" remind you of Frist? (Arrogant, anal retentive, money grubbing, a-hole)

http://www.newshounds.us/2005/02/09/bill_frist_the_softspoken_doctor_with_ice_in_his_veins.php

Bill Frist: The Soft-Spoken Doctor with Ice in His Veins
Senate Majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) was a guest today (February 9, 2005) on Your World w/Neil Cavuto. Frist was on talk about the "tort reform" bill which Frist said will pass the Senate tomorrow.

Naturally, Frist made the bill sound like it was crafted solely for the purpose of protecting "the people." He said it will bring "overall equity or fairness to the system," and prevent lawyers from "channeling" suits to friendly courts.

Frist was born rich, and got richer, thanks to massive criminal fraud by the family business. The basis of the Frist family fortune is HCA Inc. (Hospital Corporation of America), the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country, which was founded by Frist's father and brother. And, just as Karl Rove was engineering the scuttling of Trent Lott and the elevation of Frist, the Bush Justice Department suddenly ended a near-decade long federal investigation into how HCA for years had defrauded Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare (the federal program that covers the military and their families), giving the greedy health-care behemoth's executives a sweetheart settlement that kept them out of the can....."

There is really very little about this investigation in the news searches. I remember discussing it here a couple of years ago. Not really sure when it ended. :shrug:

http://www.princeton.edu/~petehill/filibuster.html

Scroll down for media and speeches.

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and is absolutely adamant that we do not support Frist.

I saw him on that ABC Sunday morning show with Georgie Steph/whatever. That bit about the saliva and aids gave me chills.

I've been wondering about Frist - why he had such a meteoric rise in The Party. Good grief. Now it makes sense. Delay wasn't corrupt enough for them!

Unbelievable. You don't suppose this will be on the news?


nominated.