In the mid-’90s I was the chief of anesthesia at Cedars Medical Center when Rick Scott and Columbia Corp. owned the hospital. I saw how Columbia tried to buy doctors’ loyalty by giving them many financial perks, including paying for physician assistants or subsidizing office rent.
At the same time Columbia was overbilling Medicare in order to show increased revenue and inflate its stock price.
Eventually, Columbia paid the biggest fine in Medicare history, Scott was fired, Columbia changed its name to HCA and Scott denied knowing about the shenanigans.
Fast forward 20 years. Rick Scott was trying a new deception, this one to keep Floridians from exercising their right to vote. He refused to extend voting hours after it was plain that the turnout was much greater than anticipated and would help his opposition. Afterward, he insisted everything was just fine.
He has been the most divisive and rigid governor ever. This is a person who should be in jail, not in the governor’s office. Unfortunately, we must all suffer more years under his yoke, but he will soon face the will of people he sought to malign, and there will be a heavy price to pay.
Jay Grossman, M.D., UM Miller School of Medicine, Miami















My Yahoo