Printer-friendly format

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate: Friend or Foe of Healthcare?

Despite being hammered by reporters about allegations of fraud and a mystery video deposition taken Aug. 11 in a lawsuit involving a healthcare company, and regardless of unapologetically and, some say, arrogantly refusing to address concerns in the media about both matters, first-time political candidate Richard Lynn “Rick” Scott, who has been called “the corporate spawn of Satan,” won the Republican nod Aug. 24 in the hotly contested gubernatorial race.

The news hasn’t settled well with the Florida healthcare community, with many wondering where the $40 million—some say $50 million for the primary election alone—spent so far in his campaign was derived.

Scott, 57, spun much of his fortune from the healthcare industry. Two of his companies—Solantic Urgent Care and Columbia/HCA—have been embroiled in legal woes. When asked about the issues, his mantra to reporters has been “That’s a personal matter.” Naked Politics reported in one press conference that his “blue-eyed glare could burn holes in steel.”

Yet he beat Attorney General Bill McCollum by 3 percent in the primary election and will face Democrat Alex Sink, the state’s CFO, in the general election on Nov. 2.

Who exactly is Rick Scott? He’s been described as an American politician, businessman, healthcare industry executive, attorney, and political activist. This much is true: he had bootstrap beginnings.

Born in Illinois and raised in Missouri, Scott is the son of a truck driver and store clerk who enlisted in the Navy in 1971, following two semesters of community college. After serving in the military for 29 months, some of the time spent on the USS Glover as a radar technician, he redeveloped two donut shops in Kansas City while earning a business degree from the University of Missouri. After graduating from Southern Methodist University with a law degree, he progressed quickly to partner at Johnson & Swanson, then the largest law firm in Dallas. His focus soon turned to healthcare.

In 1987, Scott attempted to buy Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) but his offer was declined. Instead, he co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation and acquired two struggling hospitals in El Paso, expanding the portfolio to four hospitals with 833 beds. After acquiring Basic American Medical, with eight hospitals primarily located in southwest Florida, and Galen Healthcare, a spinoff of Humana Inc. that had 90 hospitals, Columbia acquired Scott’s initial target, HCA, in 1994. The merger made Columbia/HCA the nation’s largest private for-profit healthcare company. A year later, Financial World named him a CEO of the Year. Two years later, Time Magazine named him one of America’s 25 Most Influential People. He co-owned the Texas Rangers with President George W. Bush.

In 1997, when Columbia/HCA—by then the world’s largest healthcare provider with 340 hospitals, 130 surgery centers, and 550 home health locations in 38 states and two foreign countries—became embroiled in the nation’s largest healthcare fraud scandal, the board of directors asked him to resign, while also approving a hefty severance package and a 10-year consulting contract. Later that year, Scott became majority owner of America’s Health Network, the first round-the-clock healthcare cable channel, which Columbia/HCA had acquired months earlier.

The federal investigation for unnecessary lab tests, falsifying reports to increase Medicare reimbursements, and other violations at Columbia/HCA resulted in a $1.7 billion payout in fines and civil claims.

“My belief when I was there was that if we did something wrong,” Scott said later, “then we would live up to any of our mistakes. If we didn't do something wrong, we shouldn’t settle things.”

When questioned during a Q&A session at a GOP breakfast in Tampa this summer by an activist who called him an “unindicted co-conspirator” and asked him to explain the $1.7 billion fraud, he became visibly irritated.

“What I told people from day one,” Scott said, is that “people made mistakes at that company. When you’re the CEO, you take responsibility. What I could’ve done better is (hire) more internal and external auditors. But that’s the difference. In business, you learn from mistakes. In government, they never do.”

Scott then established a private investment firm—Richard L. Scott Investments—in Naples, Fla., where HCA is based. Among his pet projects: Solantic Urgent Care, a Jacksonville-based chain of walk-in clinics. Since his involvement, the company has been involved in a high-profile lawsuit involving claims of billing improprieties. In that case, P. Mark Glencross, MD, claimed Solantic unlawfully used his name in 2004 when filing state paperwork showing that clinics had a medical director in charge. The suit was filed in 2008, Scott was deposed six days before announcing his bid for governor, and the case was settled confidentially within a month. In the last few years, Solantic has been a frequent target of employment discrimination lawsuits. In 2007, Solantic settled with seven plaintiffs—possibly qualified older and/or overweight applicants that he reportedly discouraged hiring—for an undisclosed sum.

In 2009, before President Obama’s healthcare plan had been made public, Scott founded Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR) to pressure Democrats to enact healthcare legislation based on free-market principles. According to his website, he supports a state constitutional amendment in Florida that prohibits the federal government from imposing President Obama’s individual mandate. “He and his insurance-company friends make millions from the broken system we have now,” criticized Health Care for America Now.

Could the millionaire political newcomer continue to deflect criticism and burdensome baggage with deep pockets and even deeper connections to win the governor’s seat?

The Republican Governors Association issued a lukewarm statement on election night, cryptically saying the party “now looks forward.” Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee said Florida Republicans had nominated for governor “a corrupt healthcare CEO that defrauded taxpayers,” adding wryly, “Thank you, tea party!”

Political pundits agree Scott has attracted “irregular” voters and positioned himself well in the primary election with Hispanic voters, but point out it may not draw the Latino vote against Sink. “We may have a slight advantage,” said Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, “but it’s still going to be hard-fought race.”

Tags:

Florida Governor’s Race, HCA., Rick Scott, Solantic

Login and voice your opinion!