As a U.S. Senate candidate in 2018, Rick Scott ran TV ads appearing to take responsibility for his leadership of Columbia/HCA, the hospital chain that collapsed in 1997 under the weight of massive health care fraud .

Now Scott is using it for bragging rights.

The federal shutdown hinges on access to health care. Democrats refuse to pass a funding bill, in part because they want subsidies extended under the Affordable Care Act , also known as Obamacare. Without the subsidies, insurance costs for as many as 24 million Americans will soar.

The former Florida governor says he knows how to fix the impasse.

“I built the largest hospital company in the country,” Scott said on Fox, explaining his credentials for ending the shutdown and claiming he wants to fix Obamacare.

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