Our Municipal Corporations Committee, which is not interested in looking out for the interest of taxpayers, conducted another kangaroo court session in support of the Wishard referendum last night. The meeting was conducted in some dungeon over at Wishard Hospital to give the false impression the place is about to collapse in on itself. Once again, the committee only allowed people who favor the referendum to speak. Councilors asked ill-informed, uneducated questions as usual. HHC CEO Matt Gutwein falsely represented to the committee that HHC owns these 35 nursing homes. It does not. It leases them from Eagle Care and turns around and enters into operating agreements with ASC, a company owned by the same people who own Eagle Care. The idea that HHC owns these nursing homes is all an illusion to defraud the federal government out of upper payment limit Medicaid funds to the tune of tens of millions annually. These nursing homes are getting reimbursed at a rate more than double that other nursing homes providing identical services in Indiana are getting paid. That's a fraud on the federal government no matter how you want to characterize it.
Matt Gutwein continued to brag about how much the level of care improved at these nursing homes after HHC took "ownership" of them, and I use that term loosely. In 1995, HHC built a new nursing home known as Lockefield Village, which is adjacent to its hospital campus. That nursing home, which the HHC truly owned and operated, was closed last year. It scored the lowest possible rating the government issues to nursing homes in Indiana, a one out of five. Explain that one to us, Mr. Gutwein? That's right here in your own backyard in what is supposed to be your service area. Why are you closing nursing homes in Indianapolis while acquiring nursing homes far away from your service area in the far reaches of the state? I swear that this guy must have gone to the David Axelrod School of Public Disinformation. How this guy can sleep at night with a clear conscience after all the half truths and misrepresentations he has made to the Marion County citizens over the past several months is beyond me. When the bills come due and you have to start paying those higher property taxes, I assure you that Gutwein will have moved on to a new job back at his old law firm, Baker & Daniels, or some other big reward job for his snow job well done ala Fred Glass.
One more thing. If those damn hospital buildings are in such disrepair, then show me all of the public health and building code violations. The HHC picks on little private homeowners all the time for missing gutters, bad roofs, unkept lawns, broken windows, etc. Let's see how many violations these Wishard buildings have been cited for by the HHC.
I missed that Council committee meeting. Were they considering a proposal or just hosting a dog and pony show to get more air time for the 'YES' side of the referendum?
ReplyDeleteSince they were using Wishard facilities, I hope nobody actually said 'vote yes'.
You've got to check it out, Pat. Yes, it was another dog and pony show. Mike McQuillen agreed they needed another pro-Wishard show to run the last month before the election because of the airing of the MCANA meeting, which has the political insiders shorts in a bunch. Gutwein's escalated rhetoric is purely amusing. The councilors looked like they were watching behind bars as Gutwein and his insider friends delivered their talking point bullshit.
ReplyDeleteMedicare has a fraud hotline. If HHC is committing Medicare fraud as you content then you have an obligation to call and report it. I dont know the law so I really dont know if they are or not. Since you wrote about it and made that allegation, please call the Medicare Fraud Hotline and inform them of the misdeeds of HHC.
ReplyDeleteIt's Medicaid, not Medicare. It's a waste of time to complain to the federal government. It knows all about it. The Bush administration tried to shut down this fraud and got head off at the pass by corrupt members of Congress like Andre Carson who delight in our taxpayer dollars being pilfered away by their friends. Benjamin Franklin remarked after the adoption of the new constitution, "We've given you a Republic, for as long as you can keep it." Well, that Republic died during this past year. If you want relief, you may as well contact one of the international financiers like George Soros, the Dubai mafia or the Chinse government. They now control your fate. Your government is bankrupt and completely at the mercy of these folks.
ReplyDelete