HCA announces agreement with Justice

The Tennessean ^ | Wednesday, 12/18/02 | Staff Reports and Tennessean News Services

[JDGreen123]

HCA Inc., the largest hospital company in the United States, has reached an ''understanding'' with the Justice Department to pay nearly $900 million to settle the government's longest-running inquiry into accusations of health-care fraud.

Under the terms announced this morning, Nashville-based HCA would pay $631 million in fines and penalties to resolve all outstanding civil litigation with the Justice Department. The company would pay an additional $250 million to the Medicare program to resolve expense claims submitted by the company.

[JDGreen123]

The reason I post this is because the Frist family here in Nashville were co-founders of HCA. Dr. Tommy Frist mentioned in the article is the brother of Senator Bill Frist. I am not saying the Frists did any wron just that the timing of the settlement may not be coincidence. Could it be that Bush told the Justice Department to close this case so that the Dems will not have stones to throw shoul Bill Frist become new Senate Majority leader, replacing Lott? Trying to read the tea leaves I guess.

[MHGinTN]

JD, what was the name of Bredesen's company?

[JDGreen123]

Bredesen was involved with Coventry Health care which did a lot of business with HCA. Bredesen also gave HCA big incentives to move back to Nashville from Louisville after the HCA/Columbia merger.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

The biggest problem with Medicare, welfare, HUD programs, and all other government programs like them, is the ease by which they can be ripped off by the unscrupulous. It burdens honest providers with mountains of paperwork and that same mountain gives cover to the crooks. Ain't bureaucracy wonderful.

[cake_crumb]

"Could it be that Bush told the Justice Department to close this case so that the Dems will not have stones to throw shoul Bill Frist become new Senate Majority leader, replacing Lott? Trying to read the tea leaves I guess."

Geez...and I was about to post a sarcastic comment about how another fraudumant Clinton era giant busted must be all BUSH'S FAULT.

No reason to bother with that now. You've just birthed another urban legend for the Dems and third partiests to use as ammo to destroy the country.

[JDGreen123]

No I was trying to say that if Frist were nominated and HCA was still under investigation that the Dems surely would have used that against him. This may remove the issue from the table. I have no real like or dislike for Frist. I am upset that members of his family and friends backed fellow NMO millionaire Phil Bredesen a Democrat for Governor over the conservative Repyblican, Van Hilleary. I worked hard for Hilleary and feel sold out by the Frist gang.

[JDGreen123]

Sorry that should be HMO millionaire. Our new Governor, Democrat Phil Bredesen.

[JDGreen123]

Mr. Bredesen, who was heavily invested in Coventry Health Care, pulled a Hillery Clinton/Enron in 1999.

From an MSNBC article:

Last summer, when Coventry's stock was trading between $5 and $8 a share, a large number of insiders bought heavily. The only sale in the last year was $5 million worth of shares by Philip Bredesen, a director and founder of Coventry and mayor of Nashville, Tenn. The lucky official got between $18 and $18.75 for shares worth less than $10 today.