Keep An Eye on John Ellis Bush, Jeb That Is
A couple of weeks before leaving office as Florida's two-term governor, after death row inmate Angel N. Diaz suffered a botched execution where it took two lethal injections and upward of a half hour for him to die, Jeb Bush suspended Florida's death penalty.
That brought controversy but Jeb was leaving anyway and conflict was not new to him. Historically he had undermined most progressive work. Stem cell research for instance. And there was his futile fantasy of teaching the Federal Judiciary a thing or two based on the Terri Schiavo private matter. A quick slap by a Federal Judge brought about Jeb's silence, abruptly aborted his mission, and underlined that he had mis-spent a hunk of Floridian tax payer money.
Since leaving office Jeb has been fairly low keyed in spite of his President brother and former President father putting in a plug or two along the way that the family throne should naturally pass to him through something akin to royalty bloodline. For now though the two have piped down about him.
Enter Tenet Healthcare Corporation. THC is a national health care provider that can't seem to stay far away from big time trouble. But when the going gets tough, really tough, hire the President's bro. Jeb and THC hitched up in April this year and he became one of ten members of the Board of Directors.
In 1997, THC owned 127 hospitals in twenty-two states and employed well over one hundred thousand people. It currently owns twelve hospitals in Texas alone. THC is a publically held company with a checkered past where confrontations with branches of the U.S. government is as common as a morning cup of coffee, less the sugar and cream.
The THC regional network design provides full medical care through specialty hospitals, outpatient surgery facilities, rehabilitation hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health care agencies. A sort of one size fits all model so as to keep the doe at home.
Isabel Ayers, a Florida resident and former employee of the THC conglomerate, filed a federal qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act against THC. The Act authorizes that an individual can bring suit on behalf of the United States. The suit woke up the dozing Southern District of Florida United States Attorney. Once awakened, he downed a latte and hopped on as leader of the pack for the Ayers' prosecution team.
Providing medical services is big business. Mega dollars. According to Ayers, one THC home health care agency received Medicare reimbursement to the tune of up to three million dollars per month. Uh-huh, one facility; per month! No wonder THC can afford to pay its newly installed director a rumored sign on bonus, shares of stock, plus a half million a year for attending about thirteen meetings. Forget Las Vegas!
Ayers described how THC purchased home health care facilities for the purpose of channeling patients to hospitals also owned by it; employed home health care staffing agencies who also referred outside patients to THC hospitals; and took illegal profits through cost-shifting. According to Ayers, THC shifted operating costs from hospitals by filing false claims for Medicare reimbursement through the home health care facilities. Illegal Medicare funding was a financial stabilizer for THC hospitals.
THC saw sick or incapacitated persons with "Medicare Reimbursable PROFIT!" stamped on their foreheads. The scam worked so well that THC kept buying more facilities. It is the intersection where Financial Gain Avenue crosses Human Commodity Drive and the former Florida Governor's motive for the failed Schiavo mission is suspect.
Eventually, THC was forced to pay twenty-nine million dollars which was related to only four of its Florida owned facilities. Of course, THC didn't admit wrongdoing, but it did pay the money based on the allegations that it had submitted false statements about patients medical condition and eligibility for Medicare coverage, billed for service that were never provided, and provided services by unskilled, unlicensed or uncertified personnel.
THC has been embattled in other states, too, where it has forked out millions of dollars over accusations it paid physician kickbacks in return for the physician admitting patients to the THC owned hospitals. A cousin to insider trading. Additionally, the IRS has knocked at THC's door. The tangled web goes on.
Jeb has no experience directing health care facilities so what can he contribute to THC? High up connections.
What happened to patients who received shabby services or no services at all from THC facilities? Lost in the shuffle.
© Coninc., TheDownsideUp.Com 2007
That brought controversy but Jeb was leaving anyway and conflict was not new to him. Historically he had undermined most progressive work. Stem cell research for instance. And there was his futile fantasy of teaching the Federal Judiciary a thing or two based on the Terri Schiavo private matter. A quick slap by a Federal Judge brought about Jeb's silence, abruptly aborted his mission, and underlined that he had mis-spent a hunk of Floridian tax payer money.
Since leaving office Jeb has been fairly low keyed in spite of his President brother and former President father putting in a plug or two along the way that the family throne should naturally pass to him through something akin to royalty bloodline. For now though the two have piped down about him.
Enter Tenet Healthcare Corporation. THC is a national health care provider that can't seem to stay far away from big time trouble. But when the going gets tough, really tough, hire the President's bro. Jeb and THC hitched up in April this year and he became one of ten members of the Board of Directors.
In 1997, THC owned 127 hospitals in twenty-two states and employed well over one hundred thousand people. It currently owns twelve hospitals in Texas alone. THC is a publically held company with a checkered past where confrontations with branches of the U.S. government is as common as a morning cup of coffee, less the sugar and cream.
The THC regional network design provides full medical care through specialty hospitals, outpatient surgery facilities, rehabilitation hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health care agencies. A sort of one size fits all model so as to keep the doe at home.
Isabel Ayers, a Florida resident and former employee of the THC conglomerate, filed a federal qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act against THC. The Act authorizes that an individual can bring suit on behalf of the United States. The suit woke up the dozing Southern District of Florida United States Attorney. Once awakened, he downed a latte and hopped on as leader of the pack for the Ayers' prosecution team.
Providing medical services is big business. Mega dollars. According to Ayers, one THC home health care agency received Medicare reimbursement to the tune of up to three million dollars per month. Uh-huh, one facility; per month! No wonder THC can afford to pay its newly installed director a rumored sign on bonus, shares of stock, plus a half million a year for attending about thirteen meetings. Forget Las Vegas!
Ayers described how THC purchased home health care facilities for the purpose of channeling patients to hospitals also owned by it; employed home health care staffing agencies who also referred outside patients to THC hospitals; and took illegal profits through cost-shifting. According to Ayers, THC shifted operating costs from hospitals by filing false claims for Medicare reimbursement through the home health care facilities. Illegal Medicare funding was a financial stabilizer for THC hospitals.
THC saw sick or incapacitated persons with "Medicare Reimbursable PROFIT!" stamped on their foreheads. The scam worked so well that THC kept buying more facilities. It is the intersection where Financial Gain Avenue crosses Human Commodity Drive and the former Florida Governor's motive for the failed Schiavo mission is suspect.
Eventually, THC was forced to pay twenty-nine million dollars which was related to only four of its Florida owned facilities. Of course, THC didn't admit wrongdoing, but it did pay the money based on the allegations that it had submitted false statements about patients medical condition and eligibility for Medicare coverage, billed for service that were never provided, and provided services by unskilled, unlicensed or uncertified personnel.
THC has been embattled in other states, too, where it has forked out millions of dollars over accusations it paid physician kickbacks in return for the physician admitting patients to the THC owned hospitals. A cousin to insider trading. Additionally, the IRS has knocked at THC's door. The tangled web goes on.
Jeb has no experience directing health care facilities so what can he contribute to THC? High up connections.
What happened to patients who received shabby services or no services at all from THC facilities? Lost in the shuffle.
© Coninc., TheDownsideUp.Com 2007
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posted by KKHC | 10:00 AM
