Health Management Associates Scandal
Encyclopedia
Health Management Associates is a defunct Arkansas
-based company involved in a blood-management scandal during the 1980s.
blood bank
s.
HMA was contracted by the state of Arkansas
to provide health care to prisoners in the state of Arkansas
in the early to mid 1980s. This arrangement allowed HMA to collect blood from the prisoners. The blood, some of it proven to be infected with HIV
and hepatitis C
, was found in the Canadian
blood supply. It was not found in American
supplies because of a ban on prisoner blood use.
The president of HMA at that time was Leonard Dunn, a close friend of Bill Clinton
and Vincent Foster. He chaired Clinton's re-election campaign and was appointed by Clinton to the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission.
In 1993, a Canadian
Commons Committee released a request for a public inquiry into HMA's actions in the 1980s. Foster committed suicide two months later, on July 20, 1993. Conspiracy theorists have tried to link his death to HMA and the Whitewater Scandal to prove he was murdered.
Clinton is not implicated in the Krever Report, as some news articles and websites claim. As mentioned above, the report was written to find ways to improve the Canadian blood supply, not find criminal fault in any person or group.
The Governor's records are often mentioned with the claim that they hold secrets about Clinton's association with HMA. The Governor's records were taken by Clinton as personal property when he left office and have not been made public. It is only speculation that they contain anything related to HMA.
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
-based company involved in a blood-management scandal during the 1980s.
HMA scandal
The Health Management Associates Scandal refers to the sale of tainted blood from HMA (a now defunct American company based in Arkansas) to CanadianCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
blood bank
Blood bank
A blood bank is a cache or bank of blood or blood components, gathered as a result of blood donation, stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a division of a hospital laboratory where the storage of blood product occurs and where proper...
s.
HMA was contracted by the state of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
to provide health care to prisoners in the state of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
in the early to mid 1980s. This arrangement allowed HMA to collect blood from the prisoners. The blood, some of it proven to be infected with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and hepatitis C
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus . The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years...
, was found in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
blood supply. It was not found in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
supplies because of a ban on prisoner blood use.
The president of HMA at that time was Leonard Dunn, a close friend of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Vincent Foster. He chaired Clinton's re-election campaign and was appointed by Clinton to the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission.
In 1993, a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Commons Committee released a request for a public inquiry into HMA's actions in the 1980s. Foster committed suicide two months later, on July 20, 1993. Conspiracy theorists have tried to link his death to HMA and the Whitewater Scandal to prove he was murdered.
The Krever Report
Justice Horace Krever led a public inquiry in 1993 which uncovered the Arkansas prison blood scheme, as he reported in 1997.The primary purpose of the report was to work on ways of improving the Canadian blood system to avoid similar problems in the future. Also, the report makes mention of similar problems with prisoner blood collection practices in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, as well as concerns about blood in general from San Francisco.Bill Clinton
Because he later became President, there have been many attempts to link Clinton to the HMA scandal. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton signed the contract with HMA for prisoner's healthcare, but there is no concrete evidence to implicate Clinton in any wrongdoing in the HMA scandal.Clinton is not implicated in the Krever Report, as some news articles and websites claim. As mentioned above, the report was written to find ways to improve the Canadian blood supply, not find criminal fault in any person or group.
The Governor's records are often mentioned with the claim that they hold secrets about Clinton's association with HMA. The Governor's records were taken by Clinton as personal property when he left office and have not been made public. It is only speculation that they contain anything related to HMA.
See also
- Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in CanadaRoyal Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in CanadaThe Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada, more commonly referred to as the Krever Commission or Krever Inquiry, was a Royal commission headed by Mr Justice Horace Krever established by the Canadian Government in October 1993...
- Tainted blood scandalTainted blood scandalThe terms tainted blood scandal, contaminated blood scandal, or infected blood scandal may be a reference to:*Contaminated haemophilia blood products...
- Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood ScandalFactor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood ScandalFactor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal is a feature length documentary by Arkansas filmmaker and investigative journalist Kelly Duda. Through interviews and presentation of documents and footage, Duda alleges that for more than two decades, the Arkansas prison system profited from selling...
- Contaminated haemophilia blood productsContaminated haemophilia blood productsContaminated hemophilia blood products were a serious public health problem in the late 1970s through 1985. These products caused large numbers of haemophiliacs to become infected with HIV and hepatitis C...