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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ____________________________________________ 11 The Columbia Story and an Overview
 
 ______________________________ 2
1.1 In September 1993 ................................................................. 21.2 In February 1994 .................................................................... 21.3 In April 1995 ......................................................................... 21.4 In March 1996 ....................................................................... 21.5 In August 1996 ...................................................................... 21.6 In October 1996 ..................................................................... 31.7 In November 1996 .................................................................. 31.8 By December 1996 ................................................................. 31.9 In February 1997 .................................................................... 31.10 In March 1997 ...................................................................... 31.11 In July 1997 ........................................................................ 4
2 Corporate Philosophy
 
 __________________________________________ 53 Allegations of Unsavory Behavior At The Time Of The FBI Raids
 
 __________ 6
3.1 PACMAN activity .................................................................... 63.2 Shortchanging the community and patients .................................... 63.3 Relationships with doctors ......................................................... 63.4 Misusing integrated systems ....................................................... 73.5 Market control....................................................................... 73.6 Marketing ............................................................................ 83.7 Billing practices ..................................................................... 8
4 Fraud Investigation
 
 ____________________________________________ 9
4.1 The July 1997 FBI raids ............................................................. 94.2 A new chairman and a new approach ............................................ 94.3 HCA's Track Record .................................................................. 94.4 Using this information to press issues in Australia ............................ 104.5 Vindicated again ................................................................... 104.6 One Whistle Blowers Battle ...................................................... 104.7 Court actions ....................................................................... 104.8 The Unfolding Investigations ..................................................... 114.9 Breaking up the company ........................................................ 11
5 The Nature of Fraud Allegations and Practices
 
 ______________________ 12
5.1 Billing Fraud ....................................................................... 125.2 Patient care ......................................................................... 135.3 Employees .......................................................................... 145.4 Relationships With Doctors ....................................................... 145.5 Accreditation processes ........................................................... 155.6 Marketing ........................................................................... 155.7 PACMAN activities .................................................................. 15
 
1
The Columbia Story and an Overview
Columbia Healthcare was formed in July 1988 by Richard Scott, a lawyer and RichardRainwater, a financier. It was formed in partnership with 120 physicians. It bought twohospitals in El Paso, Texas. In May 1990 it bought a laboratory company and listed on thestock exchange.
1.1In September 1993
Columbia merged with Galen Health Care which had earlier been spun off from Humana.It now owned 99 hospitals in the USA and internationally. It expanded its policy of selling ownership stakes to physicians in order to bind them to the corporations profitmission
1.2In February 1994
Columbia merged with Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) to form Columbia/HCA,now a US $10 billion company. Scott becomes president and CEO. HCA's chairman andCEO Thomas Frist MD Jnr became vice chairman. Columbia/HCA now enjoyed the political support of t
he two Frist family US senators.
A year later Scott moved theheadquarters from Louisville to Nashville.
1.3In April 1995
Columbia/HCA acquired Healthtrust for US $ 5.6 billion. McWhorter, Heathtrust's CEO became chairman but was later replaced by Scott.In a contentious purchase which divided the church Columbia/HCA acquired half of aRoman Catholic group in Cleveland in May 1995. During 1995 Columbia/HCA purchased or formed joint ventures with 33 not for profit hospitals.
1.4In March 1996
Columbia moved to purchase the not for profit HMO's Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Thiswas met with a public outcry. Columbia/HCA persisted in its efforts but when the FBIraided its hospitals in March 1997 it was forced to abandon the deal.
1.5In August 1996
The New England Journal of Medicine published two articles by Robert Kuttner attacking Columbia/HCA's business practices and its corporate philosophy.
2
 
1.6In October 1996
the 60 Minutes national TV program screened a hard hitting exposure of Columbia/HCA's practices.
1.7In November 1996
Columbia/HCA's PACMAN activity in purchasing not for profit community facilitiesreceived another setback when the California's attorney general blocked its $202 million bid for the assets of San Diego-based Sharp Healthcare. He claimed that Columbia/HCAundervalued the system.
1.8By December 1996
Attorney generals across the country had stepped in to scrutinise and check Columbia/HCA's purchase of not for profit hospitals. It had acquired only 17 during1996.Frustrated in its profitable PACMAN activities Columbia turned its eyes elsewhere. Itmade a bid to acquire Value Health, a benefits management company. It also looked toexpand its international operations. It bought a managed care group in the UnitedKingdom.Representative Pete Stark, who years before piloted the Stark anti-kickback legislationinto law was particularly critical of corporate for profit medicine and of Columbia/HCA.He said "the for-profit chains have the minds of piranha fish and the hearts of Doberman pinschers." He indicated that Columbia/HCA was "the PACMAN of the industry." Onanother occasion referring to Columbia/HCA executives he stated "Hopefully they willall be in jail soon for the crimes they have committed across the country."
1.9In February 1997
Scott claimed that 1996 was the company's best year ever. Its net income was US $1.5 billion on US $19.9 billion revenues. Its stock reached US $43.88, an all time high. Itowned over 350 hospitals. It announced its plans to spend US $1 billion to enter andrejuvenate the Australian health care marketplace. It bid to buy the French companyGenerale de Sante Internationale (GSI), the largest in Europe.
1.10In March 1997
Federal agents raided Columbia/HCA's El Paso operations, the facilities where Columbiafirst began its controversial policy of encouraging doctors to buy stakes in its hospitals.This circumvented the intention of the Stark anti-kickback laws.
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destinationsunknown.susan1998

Fraud at Columbia or HCA - a corporate misgovernance group of activities Rainwater just finsished with the 'divestiture' of his homehealth units at NCFE. JPMorgan and CITI were found GUILTY of contributing to the ENRON PONSI SCHEME. JPMORGAN CHASE and CITI PAID GOVERNMENT SETTLED AGREEMENTS FOR FRAUD in our nation's “LARGEST ‘PRIVATE’ FINANACIAL FRAUD CASE “ in our history! National Century Financial Enterprises, Inc. (NCFE) Federal prosecutors proclaimed “no one has ever heard of” this case. I believe that was intentional. December 2008, at the trial of NCFE in Columbus, Ohio, ALL executives EXCEPT ONE, was acquitted. This month, FEBRUARY ‘09, although the DOJ’s NCFE case ended in December 2008, we now have ‘Credit Suisse Securities LLC has asked the court overseeing litigation over the collapse of health care lender National Century Financial Enterprises Inc. to sanction Lloyds TSB Bank PLC for allegedly hiding a deal with Moody's Investor Services Inc…’ Mr. James K Happ, the ONE and ONLY EXECUTIVE acquitted in December 2008. He was the last executive to go on trial, even after the so-called master mind, the CEO Lance Poulsen. .Hmm……NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF? Who is this Mr. James K Happ? Mr. James K Happ was the CFO at Richard Rainwater's Columbia Homecare Group before arriving at National Century Financial Enterprises, Inc. NCFE. Mr. James K Happ, as CFO at Columbia Homecare Group was responsible for divesting the ‘losing asset’ of a publicly traded company’s homecare segment into NCFE for financing a sale to a PRIVATE FAILING, while UNDER INVESTIGATION for MEDICARE FRAUD company, which filed bankruptcy less than a year of the alleged purchase.

reply02 / 09 / 2009
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