FLASH! Mitt Gouges Medicare, per NYTimes

Right this minute, go the NY Times front page and read its top story describing how Bain Capital is making enormous profit from the giant hospital chain HCA. How? By upping its charge codes to Medicare! By cutting staff and care! By BEDSORES!

NOTE: You can read ten stories in the NY Times free each mont without being a subscriber. THIS IS A MUST-READ!!

Yes, we know Romney isn't running Bain any more, but he and his family are still raking in the big income from Bain.

And the income from HCA through Bain is enormous!  Bain and two other private equity firms bought HCA in 2006 with mostly borrowed money (typical Bain) and then goosed up profitability so much that now the value of their HCA holding has TRIPLED!  We are talking BILLIONS here, folks!  TRIPLE the original $33 billion invested!

Paid for in large measure by YOUR tax dollars. By the paycheck withholding you pay for Medicare.  By your income taxes that go into Medicaid.

Romney has been gouging YOU!

"Code-upping" is Bain's magic marker. The codes describe the illness and level of treatment needed, i.e. what a hospital is charging Medicare for.  All of a sudden, under Bain, HCA's patients got a whole lot sicker, according to the HCA coding.  Has Medicare jumped on this upping the codes? No! The head of Medicare is a former Bain executive!  As we used to say, "How do you like them apples, Shirley?"

Bed sores?  The Bain-HCA hospitals include 8 of the nation's worst 15 for bed sores!  Bed sores are considered the leading indicia of poor quality care and inadequate nursing staff. And the HCA doctors are complaining about HCA pressure on the MDs to reduce care.

So no wonder Medicare is going broke while the quality of USA medical care is sinking as compared with other countries.

AND THE CHUTZPAH!  Romney and Ryan are running around saying that Medicare is doomed unless they destroy it to save it!  At the same time Romney has been milking the moo out of Medicare moola!  Romney is like the guy who killed his parents and then pleaded for mercy on the grounds he was an orphan!  He's been making money on the problem!  He's been making the problem!

This news story could  -  and should  -  be the election.

Good-o for the New York Times.  Journalism still means something.  It means a lot! Now let's see if the rest of the media pays attention.  Or are they going to continue to smarm over Ryan's "cute" cowlick?

Good-o for the Times, not just because the story could win us this election. It's good-o too because maybe it will save Medicare from the vultures like Romney.

Oh, people!  What kind of evil makes money off the sick and the old by cheating them, by damning them to the torture of bed sores and infection? By robbing the poor working stiffs who give up part of each paycheck to be sure their parents and grandparents have medical care?  What sort of filth slops up such ill-gotten gains?

Did Romney have a duty to know why his wealth from Bain was shooting up?  Yes, he did.  

We must do everything possible to stop this evil man.  Can we?  Oh, yes we can.  Because we must.

 And maybe now we know why Mitt isn't handing over those income tax returns.