Medicare fraud is unfortunately a major ongoing issue, in which healthcare providers, labs, or Medicare beneficiaries may deceive the U.S. Medicare system to unlawfully receive payment.

Some involved in Medicare fraud are fired or fined or jailed, or some combination therein. One man reportedly accused of Medicare fraud, Rick Scott, ended up becoming first the Florida governor, then a senator, and has now been tasked with co-heading up Republican healthcare legislation under the Trump administration.

Who Is Rick Scott?

Rick Scott is a Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, alongside Marco Rubio. He took this office in 2019, after 8 years as the governor of Florida. Scott has reportedly spoken in support of Trump since the 2016 primaries.

In 2017, Scott reportedly said he was already regularly working with Trump to come up with healthcare legislation and was unofficially tasked in 2019 to continue this work along with two other GOP senators, John Barrasso of Wyoming and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who Trump said would “come up with something really spectacular.”

How Did Rick Scott Make his Money?

According to the New York Times, before he got into politics, Scott went to law school, served in the U.S. Navy, bought and revived a couple of doughnut shops, and became a law firm partner. He also co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation, which later merged with HCA Healthcare to become Columbia/HCA and is now one of the largest for-profit hospital systems in the U.S.

But in 1997, Scott’s hospital reportedly became embroiled in an investigation conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Health and Human Services due to concerns over potential Medicare fraud. The feds had search warrants for Columbia/HCA facilities, as well as on dozens of doctors they suspected were tied to the company in a major Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme.

Not quite months after the federal raid, Scott was reportedly pressured by the board of directors to resign as chairman and CEO.

In December 2000, the U.S. Justice Department announced what was then the largest government fraud settlement in U.S. history: Columbia/HCA had reportedly agreed to pay $840 million in criminal fines and civil damages and penalties.

The settlement reportedly revealed a number of things about the company’s practices while Scott was CEO.

• Columbia billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs for tests that were not necessary or ordered by physicians.
• The company attached false diagnosis codes to patient records to increase reimbursement to the hospitals.
• The company illegally claimed non-reimbursable marketing and advertising costs as “community education.”
• Columbia billed the government for home health care visits for patients who did not qualify to receive them.

A second series of claims, in a similar vein, was settled with the government in 2002, adding $881 million to the fine, bringing the total fine for Columbia’s healthcare fraud scandal to $1.7 billion.

As part of the settlement, Columbia/HCA pleaded guilty to at least 14 corporate felonies, incurring financial penalties but not jail time.

So how did Rick Scott make his money? Some of it reportedly came from this healthcare fraud debacle. When Scott left the company about four months after the initial raid, he was paid a $9.88 million settlement. He also owned 10 million shares of stock in the company, then worth more than $300 million.

A Florida Democratic party spokesperson, Joshua Karp, said in a 2014 press release that Scott is the “ultimate Medicare thief.”

“Rick Scott’s company stole money that should have gone to health care for seniors,” Karp said.

Filing a Medicare Fraud Lawsuit

Medicare and Medicaid fraud are major issues in the healthcare system today. The government relies heavily on people within a company who believe they have witnessed fraud against the government to come forward and act as whistleblowers. The government can then review the case and decide whether or not to intervene and take the case on themselves. Whistleblowers are often granted a substantial portion of any settlement, generally between 15 and 30 percent.

If you have witnessed government fraud, you may be able to file a whistleblower lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, especially against your employer, but there are anti-retaliation laws in place to protect whistleblowers in situations like these.

Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.