"Senator Frist's trust wasn't blind, and neither are the American people"

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Frist on Meet the Press today:

". . . at any point in time I have no idea how much stock of any particular entity (I own) at any point in time."


Not true says DNC: "Senator Frist's trust wasn't blind, and neither are the American people," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "They can see that Bill Frist isn't telling the truth about his stock holdings. That is why there has been a complete collapse in confidence in the Republican leadership, and why a majority of Americans trust Democrats to lead the country in a new direction."


From 1994 to 2002, Frist held HCA stock in a company called Bowling Avenue Partners (BAP), which was established by his brother and listed Senator Frist's residence as the company's mailing address. Before BAP was dissolved in 2002, Senator Frist held $775,000 to $1.57 million worth of non-public HCA stock; stock he held outside his Senate-approved blind trust. For each of those years, he signed financial disclosure forms clearly stating that he owned HCA stock. Senator Frist earned $265,000 from BAP over four years. During that time, he was a key voice in the Senate on health care issues, leading the effort to defeat a Patients Bill of Rights that would have affected HCA's bottom line.


HOW WAS BILL FRIST SPENDING HIS TIME?

MEDICARE: Frist Key to Passage of Final Medicare Bill. "He (Frist) put himself on the (Medicare) bill's negotiating team, he said, "because that's how important this bill was to me." At another juncture, he teamed with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R- Ill., to break an impasse over the bill's most controversial element: a proposal that would have called for direct competition between Medicare and private health insurance companies. (Gannett News Service, 11/27/03) HCA Directly Benefited from Frist's Medicare Bill. "HCA stands to benefit from the Medicare bill because 40 percent of its revenues come from the government-run health insurance program. Frist repeatedly pointed out that the Senate ethics committee had determined that he had no conflict. He countered that he brought an insider's knowledge to the table that would be helpful." (Gannett News Service, 11/27/03)

PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS:

Frist Backed Weaker Bill, to Surprise of Physicians. After a bitter fight, the Senate rejected a Clinton Administration proposal designed to extend protections to all Americans with health coverage. Instead, it approved a far more limited version pushed by Frist that would extend fewer rights to fewer Americans, to the surprise of many physicians who had counted on Frist's support for the bill because of his experience as a doctor. (USA Today, 9/13/99) HCA Knew The Danger in a Strong, Enforceable Patients Bill of Rights. Although Frist says he does not know how Columbia HCA would be affected by "patients' bill of rights" legislation, the company clearly knew the impact. It warned shareholders that it has a stake in health-care reform in its quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying that "proposals adverse to the business of the company" could be enacted. Managed care pays the bills for about 40 percent of Columbia HCA patients. (USA Today, 9/13/99)

PROVIDER SPONSORED ORGANIZATIONS:

Frist Sponsored a Bill Directly Benefiting HCA. "In 1997, for example, Frist sponsored a bill that would allow new doctor- hospital alliances to begin serving Medicare patients under federal supervision, a bill supported by HCA. He is one of 29 Senate sponsors of a bill introduced in 2001 that would loosen regulation of Medicare contracts and force faster federal adjudication of billing disputes with hospitals and doctors."(Washington Post, 1/26/03)

full report: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=60007