http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/elections/fl-rick-scott-governor-hca-20100520,0,844012,full.storyRick Scott, who ran a company involved in the nation's largest Medicare fraud case, wants to be Florida's governor
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.
Today, Scott is a Republican candidate for governor, running his campaign from an office in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Scott considers himself a health care pioneer who significantly cut costs and improved patient care. But his decision to enter the race and his explanation of what occurred at Columbia/HCA is rankling some of those familiar with the fraud scandal.
"I don't think his background justifies running for governor in any state, especially a state that has a lot of Medicare recipients," said Jim Alderson, a former hospital executive in Montana who received millions as a whistleblower in the case.
U.S. Rep. Pete Stark, a Democrat from California who criticized the government's settlement as being too soft on Columbia/HCA, said in a statement to the Sun Sentinel that Scott had made a fortune running a company "that defrauded Medicare out of billions.''
"Now he wants to run the state government?'' Stark said. "Watch out, Florida taxpayers."
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Scott is one of three candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor in the Aug. 24 primary election. A Mason-Dixon poll this month showed him gaining on the frontrunner, state Attorney General Bill McCollum, who was 14 percentage points ahead of Scott.
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