Change Service Requested PRSRT STD New Crop of Politicians ... can ye not discern the US POSTAGE Join Veteran Lawmakers PAID signs of the times? The Tragic Consequences of Leftist Ideology GREENVILLE SC ~ See Page 6 ~ PERMIT #269 M!""#$% 16:3 ~ See Below ~ 50 cents Herlong Contrast by Julie Hershey Th e Times Examiner, 44 Pine Knoll Drive, Suite E-2, Greenville, South Carolina 29609 ~ See Page 8 ~ VOL. 25, NO. 14 - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF THE PALMETTO STATE Greenville Health System Controversy: The Full Story By Tom Barilovits Summary Attorney General Speaks Upstate Attorney Announces Over the past few weeks, nu- merous op-eds, news articles, to Upstate Republicans Candidacy for 4th District Facebook postings, emails, text messages, and even radio at- Congressional Seat tack ads and silly mailers from a shadowy group have all been fl ying around because a few upstate lawmakers decided to introduce SC House Bill 4945. In 2016, a few hospital ex- ecutives illegally seized (“pri- vatized”) the multi-billion-dol- lar-valued Greenville Health System from its owner, the up- state taxpayers. Their end goal is to make GHS part of a multi- state mega healthcare system which they would control and only they would benefi t via giant salaries while making all citizens suff er under higher-healthcare PHOTO BY GILBERT SCALES PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHEN BROWN prices and lower quality care. Stephen Brown announced his candidacy Wednesday, March The taxpayers got nothing SC Attorney General Incumbent 28th at the Veteran’s Memorial in Simpsonville. in return from the new private Alan Wilson spoke as guest This morning Upstate at- being vacated by Congressman Carolina Supreme Court as a state-wide corporations now speaker at the Greenville torney Stephen H. Brown an- Trey Gowdy. Brown, a resident specialist in the fi eld of Employ- running/controlling all GHS County Republican Executive nounced his candidacy for the of the Upstate for more than 30 operations. Currently, GHS 4th Congressional District seat years, is certifi ed by the South See BROWN, Page 3 operations is no longer local- Committee Meeting on Monday, ly-owned nor locally controlled. For example, Spence Taylor, the April 2nd, 2018. “The Making of a Marine Scholar” current GHS president, is ac- tually employed by SC Health Speaks to Upstate Veterans Company, the state-wide pri- Beware of Gates’ vate corporation set up to con- trol all GHS operations and New “Education” Fad other healthcare systems across SC and beyond. Most folks, in- & “Conservatives” cluding many doctors, just don’t realize that. Behind It HB 4945 (sponsored by State Reps Loftis, G.R. Smith, Tran- tham, Burns, Chumley, Rob- inson-Simpson and Putnam) reverses that so-called “privat- ization” (taking something for nothing) and gives GHS back to the taxpayers. That bill would also truly privatize GHS by selling off the multi-billion-dol- lar-valued organization with the $billions in proceeds going back to the taxpayers. This bill PHOTO BY STUART MCCLURE would also eff ectively unwind Guest speaker at The American Legion Major Rudolf Anderson, the 2017 GHS merger/consol- Jr. Post 214 in Taylors was George A. Baker III author of The idation with fi nancially-trou- Making of a Marine Scholar. George gave a very informative bled Palmetto Health based in talk on his life story and the book he had written and presented Columbia. Contrary to the con- a signed copy of his book to the Post’s Museum Library. See GHS, Page 3 PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.THENEWAMERICAN.COM The Red Terror Sheri Few By Sheri Few tute (PPI) brought high-dollar, The Tragic Consequences of Leftist Ideology The New American ill-conceived education policy A “conservative” public pol- reforms to South Carolina in n April 13, 1975, on the Americans: For Most a Better American bombing, most icy group in South Carolina af- 2014 that increased spending O eve of the fall of Cam- Life.” Cambodians would be better fi liated with former U.S. Sena- for state-level bureaucracy, im- By bodia and 17 days from the fall The author’s point—typical off under Communism. tor Jim DeMint has been wrong peded local control, mandated Mike of South Vietnam on April 30, of liberal journalists during the But although there were on education policy since its psychological testing for chil- Scruggs New York Times columnist Syd- Vietnam confl ict and since— occasionally some collat- ney Schanberg posted an article was that because of the possi- inception, and it is time that the dren as young as four years old, headlined “Indochina Without bility of civilian casualties from See SCRUGGS, Page 12 truth be told. Palmetto Promise Insti- See GATES, Page 4 2 The Times Examiner Wednesday, April 4, 2018 30 Years of Service Recognized PHOTO BY STUART MCCLURE Margaret Holloway of American Legion 214 GHS USC, SC Ports Authority, etc.). folks might want to learn a few If Timmons gets his way, his more details about this whole was recognized for her 30 years of service to the ... Continue from Page 1 legislation would kill the law- ordeal, so I put together the de- American Legion Auxiliary. tention of hospital executives, suit. tails based on my involvement Obamacare-induced healthcare Overall, we need more lo- and research over the last 2.5 consolidation has only led to cal healthcare competition not years as a taxpayer-citizen. Veteran Issues Discussed skyrocketing healthcare prices, less. Let’s stop this illegal take- Historical Background lower quality care and yet big- over and state-wide healthcare Created by state law in 1947, ger executive paychecks. Re- consolidation. Then, let’s truly Greenville Health System ex- by American Legion member, those same executives privatize GHS into 2-3 locally ists as a local taxpayer-owned essentially wrote Obamacare in competing healthcare systems, a governmental entity. Just like National Commander 2010 and they still overwhelm- move that would actually bring a school district, it’s a politi- American Legion National ingly support it. down healthcare prices for ev- cal subdivision/special purpose An identical bill, SB 1026, eryone. Healthcare now makes district of SC. Over the last 70 Commander Denise H. Rohan was fi led in the SC Senate. How- up nearly 18% or ~$35 Billion years, GHS has grown into the spoke to the South Carolina ever, in an eff ort to score a quick of our state’s $209 Billion econ- largest healthcare system in SC House of Representatives and political win, freshman Senator omy. with ~$2.5 Billion in revenue, Senate on March 6th, 2018. Her Willian Timmons had a change We can’t aff ord to let our over 15,000 employees, 8 med- remarks to the Legislators were of heart and decided to stealthi- state’s healthcare market be ical campuses and hundreds of as follows: ly defang SB 1026 by replacing completely merged into a mas- medical offi ces. GHS has grown On behalf of the two million the bill’s language with a simple sive multi-state and central- as the local economy has ex- provision allowing former GHS ploded in the Upstate. Legionnaires around the world ly-controlled monopoly (Rior- CEO Michael Riordan and oth- dan’s master plan) that could Over the past few years, GHS and the 163 American Legion er executives to get away with later be easily nationalized by has also been on a buying binge posts throughout the state of their illegal privatization. On the federal government under acquiring numerous indepen- South Carolina, I want to ex- March 14, Timmons submitted the false promise of helping the dent medical clinics throughout press my appreciation to each a fresh senate bill SB 1116 with poor and controlling costs. Let’s the upstate and two fi nancially of you for what you do for our the same pro-GHS language also get rid of anti-competitive struggling hospital systems in men and women who serve in from his latest SB 1026 bill. I state regulations, like the Medi- Oconee and Laurens Counties. our military and our veterans guess the amended 1026 stinks cal Certifi cate of Need Program Many small hospitals and med- too much now. (CON), that are hurting every- ical clinics are simply unable from past wars. Timmons must naively think one by stifl ing free market forc- to independently operate under The theme for my year as Na- that hospital executives will es and true innovative low-cost/ Obamacare funding changes tional Commander is Family actually stick to side-promis- high-quality healthcare. and regulations such as the in- First. As the wife of a retired es made in order to get a bill It’s no coincidence that Mi- credibility expensive electronic soldier, I know Þ rsthand that it passed allowing them to get medical records system require- AMERICAN LEGION DEPT. OF SC PHOTO BY GILBERT SCALES chael Riordan wants to con- just isn’t the veteran who serves. away with this illegal takeover. solidate and control health- ments. Some close and some The American Legion National Those executives can easily care across SC, and that he hang on, but most give up and See ROHAN, Page 3 Commander Denise H. Rohan setup new companies/contracts worked with the Obamas and join massive hospital systems to get around any promises or top Obama advisors in Chica- like GHS. This shopping spree agreements that are not spelled go, and that hospital executives has given GHS a monopolistic I Didn’t Expect Politics To Be out in a bill or law. I think cit- helped to create Obamacare to 70-80% market share through- izens have seen this type of de- promote this consolidation tak- out the upstate and it has made ception before and will not be ing place in SC and across the GHS into a $4-6 Billion tax- Easy, But I Never Thought It fooled again.