See MadFloridian's post here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3569138
HCA was the Frist family business.
from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Scott
In April 1987, Scott made his first attempt to buy the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). While still a partner at Johnson & Swanson, Scott formed the HCA Acquisition Company with two former executives of Republic Health Corporation, Charles Miller and Richard Ragsdale.[13] With financing from Citicorp conditional on acquisition of HCA,[14] the proposed holding company offered $3.85 billion for 80 million shares at $47 each, intending to assume an additional $1.2 billion in debt, for a total $5 billion deal.[15] However, HCA declined the offer, and the bid was withdrawn.[16]
In 1988, Scott and Richard Rainwater, a multimillionaire financier from Fort Worth, each put up $125,000 in working capital in their new company, Columbia Hospital Corporation,[17] and borrowed the remaining money needed to purchase two struggling hospitals in El Paso for $60 million.[18] Then they acquired a neighboring hospital and shut it down. Within a year, the remaining two were doing much better.[11] By the end of 1989, Columbia Hospital Corporation owned four hospitals with a total of 833 beds.[18]
In 1992, Columbia made a stock purchase of Basic American Medical, which owned eight hospitals, primarily in southwestern Florida. In September 1993, Columbia did another stock purchase, worth $3.4 billion, of Galen Healthcare, which had been spun off by Humana Inc. a few months before.[19] At the time, Galen had approximately 90 hospitals. After the purchase, Galen stockholders had 82 percent of the stock in the combined company, with Scott still running the company.[18]
In 1994, Columbia purchased Scott's former acquisition target, HCA, which had approximately 100 hospitals. In 1995, Columbia purchased Healthtrust, which had approximately 80 hospitals, primarily in rural communities. By 1997, Columbia/HCA had become the world's largest health care provider with more than 340 hospitals, 130 surgery centers, and 550 home health locations in 38 states and two foreign countries. With annual revenues in excess of $23 billion, the company employed more than 285,000 people, making it the seventh largest U.S. employer and the twelfth largest employer worldwide. Based on market capitalization, Columbia ranked in the top 50 companies in America and top 100 worldwide. That same year, the company was recognized by Business Week magazine as one of the 50 Best Performing Companies of the S&P 500.
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For Rick Scott, success and scandal are inseparable
By Marc Caputo, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Posted: Aug 07, 2010 02:55 PM
-snip-
As head of the mammoth Columbia/HCA hospital chain in the 1990s, Scott acknowledges, he was "responsible'' for what became the largest Medicare fraud case in U.S. history, totaling $1.7 billion. McCollum and a coterie of well-financed Capitol insiders are bombarding television airwaves and mailboxes with ads and flyers to make sure every Florida voter knows about the scandal.
Scott, 57, brushes it off – sometimes literally, by waving his hand as if shooing gnats.
"Attacks are life," Scott said when asked about the negative ads. Last month, voters asked him about the fraud case at nearly every stop of a six-day bus trip.
The questions underscore a conflict inherent in Scott's campaign: His business background and the Medicare scandal are inseparable. Scott – who was not charged or fined – said he didn't know about the troubles that unfolded on his watch, which raises questions about his leadership.
"We could have done things better," Scott acknowledged at Thursday's debate in Tampa. "When you have 285,000 employees, you have to trust people."
-snip-
more, lots more...
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/for-rick-scott-success-and-scandal-are-inseparable/1113883
= new reply since forum marked as read
