13-5 Rick Scott vs Healthcare

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Pink Slip Rick in 2014

Rick Scott vs. Healthcare

July 1, 2013 SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH EVERYONE Number 13-5

For four years, Governor Rick Scott has attacked

President Barack Obama’s health care reform

law. Now that he sees his 2014 re-election getting

uncomfortably close, he flips to trumpeting thathe would like to expand Medicaid.

But he flopped on his flip because he did nothing

to encourage the Florida legislature to vote for

the expansion–so they threw away $51 billion of

your and my money and gave it to other states.

And so the sociopathic Florida legislature and

Governor Scott, who could have insured 1.2

million uninsured Floridians, only want to cover

130,000 people. Where is the morality in that?

And . . . Scott is the founder of Conservatives

for Patients Rights, a front group organized in

2009 whose mission is to oppose President Barack

Obama’s health care reform efforts. According to

the Politico news site, Scott has raised $20 mil-

lion to fight health care reform. Where is the mo-

rality in that?

Part of the group’s anti-government healthcarecampaign is television ads that feature “horrorstories” of Canadian and British residents who

“allegedly suffered long waits for surgeriescouldn’t get the drugs they needed, or had to cometo the United States for treatment.”

For the record, here is a selection of some oScott’s unfounded statements on Obamacare from2009 to the present:

March 5, 2009: “The free market doeseverything better than the governmentdoes it. Every time the government getsinvolved, costs go up, access goes down.”

—on FOX News Channel (via MediaMatters for America)

Aug. 6, 2009: “I clearly believe thatgovernment-run health care will be badfor you as a patient. It will be bad for you as a taxpayer. It will be bad for ourcountry.” —on CNN

Oct 25, 2010: “Obamacare is goingto be horrible for patients. It’s going to

be horrible for taxpayers. It’s probablythe biggest job killer ever.” —duringgubernatorial debate with Democraticnominee Alex Sink, via Examiner.com

Feb. 15, 2011: “They’re going to create alot of dependency for Medicaid and thenthey’re going to pull the rug out from

[Continued on page 2, About Face ]



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Editorial:

Are You Represented By AnObstructionist Republican In The

Florida State Legislature?

Are you represented by a Republican in theFlorida State Legislature? Are you an old, white,male?

If not, you’re young, old, female, latino,LGBT—and your obstructionist Florida StateRepublican representative intentionally votedto make it hard or impossible for you to votein 2012.

Are you represented by a Republican in theFlorida State Legislature? Are you out of work?

Your obstructionist Florida State Republicanrepresentative intentionally voted not to help you get back to work.

Are you represented by a Republican in the FloridaState Legislature? Can you afford healthcare?

If not, it’s because your obstructionist FloridaState Republican representative intentionally voted to refuse $51 billion of Floridian’smoney and to give it to another state.

Are you represented by a Republican in theFlorida State Legislature? Are you concernedabout sensible gun legislation?

Florida doesn’t have any. It’s because yourobstructionist Florida State Republican

representative intentionally voted not to passany.

Are you represented by a Republican in theFlorida State Legislature?

If you want him/her again, go ahead, stay home.

If you don’t want him/her again, you’ve got to show up!

Vote!

under Floridians ... Floridians are fed up with this. They’re fed up with the federalgovernment telling us what to do, makingus more dependent on federal dollarsand then changing the rules. They needto just give us a block grant, let us spend

the money the way we want to do it.” —onFOX News Channel

March 23, 2011: “The law also threatensFlorida’s state budget. A study by the CatoInstitute’s Jagadeesh Gokhale estimatesFlorida will have to increase its Medicaidspending by 11 percent in 2014 and by24 percent over the next 10 years—a $24 billion unfunded mandate. This is money we do not have.” —“ObamaCare: It’s one

year too many,” Tampa Bay Tribune op-ed

July 29, 2011: “I don’t want to wasteeither federal money or state money onsomething that’s unconstitutional.” —quoted by The New York Times

Aug. 15, 2011: “If implemented,Obamacare will result in the rationingof healthcare, significant tax increases,significant job losses and the inability of

many Americans to keep their existinghealth insurance.” —statement reported by Sunshine State News

Nov. 18, 2011:”It’s not the law of theland. I don’t believe it will ever be the lawof the land.” —quoted by the AssociatedPress

Jun 28, 2012: OBAMACAREDECLARED CONSTITUTIONAL

BY THE SUPREME COURT.

FLIPJuly 1, 2012: “[S]ince Florida is legallyallowed to opt out, that’s the right decisionfor our citizens.” —governor’s office pressrelease

[ About Face, continued from page 1]

[Continued on page 3, About Face ]



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July 2, 2012: “Government healthcare programs, everywhere in the world,do three things: They promise you the world, they say, ‘Oh, we’re going to covereverything.’ Then what they do is theyrun out of money and they underpay

hospitals, doctors, and guess whathappens? They don’t want to take careof you ... If you care about patients, thisis devastating for you.” -- on FOX NewsChannel (via Politico)

Sept. 13, 2012: “...The federalgovernment still hasn’t learned that youshouldn’t spend money you don’t have.”“More Medicaid? No Thanks,” —The American Spectator op-ed

Jan. 7, 2013: “Growing government,it’s never free. It always costs money. What we’re talking about here with thisMedicaid expansion is doubling thenumber of Medicaid recipients ... As youexpand something, you can’t undo it.” —interview with reporters in Washington

FLOP

Feb. 20, 2013: “This country is thegreatest in the world and it’s greatest

largely because of how we value the weakest among us. Quality health careshoud be accessible and affordable for allFloridians. It shouldn’t depend on yourzip code or your tax bracket. No motheror father should despair over whetherthey have access to high-quality healthcare for their sick child.

“While the federal government iscommitted to paying 100 percent of

the cost, I cannot, in good conscience,deny Floridians that need it access tohealth care. We will support a three- year expansion of our Medicaid programunder the new health care law, as longas the federal government meets theircommitment to pay 100 percent of thecost during that time.” — press conferencein Tallahassee

FLIP again

When the Florida legislature refused to vote on legislation to accept expandedGovernment support for Medicaid, Scottrefused to call a special session of thelegislature, and refused to pressure thelegislature to consider passing the

extension of Medicaid. He refused to puthis money where his mouth was. ###

Obstructionist FL HouseRepublicans Would Rather Cover

130,000 Than 1 Million

House Republicans approved a bare-bonesalternative to expanding Medicaid that rejects billions of dollars in federal assistance and sets upa showdown with the Senate and Gov. Rick Scott.

The House voted 71-45 to approve its alternativeto Medicaid expansion, which uses up to $300million a year in state funds to provide basiccoverage to only about 130,000 people. TheSenate plan, which Scott prefers, relies on $51 billion in federal money over 10 years to providehealth insurance to 1 million or more Floridians.

Democrats, meanwhile, continued to criticize theHouse plan as inadequate for Florida’s poorestfamilies. The House plan covers only a fraction

of the people included in the Senate proposal andincludes premiums and deductibles that criticssay poor Floridians cannot afford.

“This bill is wrapped in a beautiful box. The paperis beautiful. The bow is beautiful,” said Rep. MiaJones, D-Jacksonville. “But when you open that box up, the box is empty and it’s filled with emptypromises.” ###

[ About Face, continued from page 2]



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Health Insurance Companies toRebate $54 Million

Health insurance companies will have to pay $54million in rebates this summer to 614,245 of theirFlorida policyholders.

That’s $132 per family.

That’s another sign that the new AffordableCare Act is working for we consumers by forcingcompanies to rein in overhead costs or pay apenalty in the form of rebates.

“Today’s announcement shows that moreFloridians are benefiting from the tools createdunder the Affordable Care Act to keep consumercosts down,” said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary ofhealth and human services.

The ACA law requires insurers to spend at least

80 cents of very premium dollar on patient care,rather than on advertising, marketing, salaries,and profits. If they spend more than that, orcollect excessive profits, they owe rebates for thedifference. The latest round of rebates are due Aug. 1.

Floridians who are owed rebates will get themthrough a check in the mail, or by reimbursement when they pay premiums by credit or debit card ora reduction in their premiums. If the rebates go toemployers for work-based insurance, they may be

used to improve health coverage.More information can be found at:

http://1.usa.gov/ovZTUA

###

It’s clear to me that ifmembers of the Florida

Legislature insist on puttingpolitics ahead of our Floridaneighbors then we need to

change the members of theLegislature in 2014.

Rick Scott’s role inColumbia/HCA scandal

The Miami Herald looked at Republican

gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott’s role in theMedicaid fraud case at his former company.

“As I have said repeatedly, Columbia/HCA made

mistakes, and I take responsibility for what

happened on my watch as CEO,’’ Scott said in a

written statement Friday. He has denied knowing

frauds were taking place while he was there, and

he was never charged with any crimes.

However, federal investigators found that Scott

took part in business practices at Columbia/HCA

that were later found to be illegal—specifically

that Scott and other executives offered financia

incentives to doctors in exchange for patient

referrals, in violation of federal law, according to

lawsuits the Justice Department filed against thecompany in 2001.

The doctor payments were among 10 different

kinds of fraud identified by the Justice Departmen

in its 10-year probe of the company, records show

Three years after Scott left Columbia/HCA, the

company admitted wrongdoing, pleading guilty

to 14 felonies—most committed during Scott’s

tenure—in addition to paying two sets of fines

totaling $1.7 billion...

Whether or not Scott was aware of his

company’s questionable conduct, the breadth

of the problems raises questions about Scott’s

leadership, management experts say. [See Rick

Scott Deposition, page 8.]

Nell Minow of the Corporate Library, a watchdog

group, put it this way: “Being ignorant of all tha

doesn’t inspire confidence.’’ In judging a CEO, she

said, “it’s no better to be a schnook than a crook.’

The key question for Scott is whether he can

persuade voters that he deserves to be chie

executive of Florida while at the same time

insisting that he knew nothing about the greatest

Medicare fraud in American history as it happened

under his nose. ###





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The League of Women VotersPrimer on Medicaid Expansion in

Florida

What is Medicaid? Medicaid is a state/federal

partnership that provides funding and access to

healthcare services to low income people.

What is the issue surrounding expansionof Medicaid? The 2010 Affordable Care Act

increases the threshold of eligibility to 138

percent of the federal poverty level. The federal

government will cover Florida’s costs for the first

three years; after that, Florida will pay 10 percent

of the tab. Expansion will bring in more than $50

billion to Florida over the next 10 years , and an

additional 1.1 million Floridians will have access

to medical services. The state government would

have to put up only about $3.5 billion over this 10 year period. More than 20 percent of Floridians

are without healthcare and most are working

people in low income jobs and unable to afford

high cost health care which can run up to $16,000

per year for a family of four.

In addition, low-income adults with no minor

dependents are presently ineligible for Medicaid.

Their medical homes are hospital emergency

rooms—the most expensive healthcare setting.

What is the League’s position? The League

urges the Florida Legislature to take Medicaid

funding, which requires no state match for the

next three years, and will provide desperately

needed healthcare for our lower income workers

and families, while stimulating Florida’s economy.

We encourage the Legislature to use those three

years to develop the “Florida Plan” as currently

being discussed by the Legislature. The League

has long supported using federal dollars to expandMedicaid in Florida as part of the federal health

care overhaul known as the Affordable Care Act.

The League would prefer the program be run by

the public sector rather than the private sector

as SB 7038 provides, but the League believes it is

essential that Florida receive the federal funding

designed to make healthcare more accessible and

affordable. ###

Florida’s Legislature and Medicaid

Florida’s poor have been kicked over the side bythe Legislature, for no other reason than that theRepublican majority detests Obamacare. YesMedicaid could have been expanded to cover overa million uninsured citizens, and the feds wouldhave paid the lion’s share. The taxes we pay foremergency room use by the indigent would havedropped.

But no, they rejected it. That’s bad enough, butnow it turns out that our state reps enjoy generoushealth insurance plans for themselves, thank you very much, for which they pay as little as$8 per month in premiums. We, the ignorantproletariat, pick up the rest for them through asubsidy.

Shame means nothing to politicians. Survivalhowever, does. —Chan Lowe, Sun Sentinel

Vote in 2014



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Rick Scott Deposition

This video shows footage of Rick Scott during adeposition in an anti-trust lawsuit against hisformer company Columbia/HCA Health. Hisperformance doesn’t exactly engender confidencein his honesty.

Top 10 Reasons to Kick Scott Out2014 is just around the corner.

As Democrats gear up to take on Tea Partier RickScott we thought it was a good time to remind youof the top ten reasons we need a new, Democraticgovernor.

In the coming months we will list one of the10 reasons each month; just to remind youhow important it is to Pink Slip Rick Scott inNovember 2014!

Reason #8.

Rick Scott Spent Millions of our Tax Dollarson Incentives for Companies that NeverCreated Jobs

Scott’s agency has given millions intaxpayer money to many corporations andthey admitted they can’t even prove thecompanies are creating jobs in Florida. What’s worse? Scott’s asked for millionsmore in funding for his failed program.

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13-5 Rick Scott vs Healthcare