“Social programs should be reformed and must go to the truly needy, not the greedy…”.
– then-Sen. Kevin Bryant, May 29, 2011, Anderson Independent-Mail
Anderson, SC — Tuesday, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman called on Attorney General Alan Wilson to investigate the South Carolina Lieutenant Governor for alleged illegal votes as a Senator.
Specifically, then-Senator Kevin Bryant voted repeatedly on budget measures and provisos that dealt with Medicaid expansion, Medicaid payments, Medicaid reimbursements, and PEBA while his pharmacy, Bryant Pharmacy and Supply, directly received payment from these same programs.
By statute, then-Senator Bryant was required to recuse himself from any votes affecting his government contracts. He did not do so.
When asked why his business has been doing so well, Kevin Bryant told the Anderson Independent-Mail that “it is because of the work ethic that Daddy started back in the ’60s of treating your customers with the best service possible.” As cute as that would be, it’s clear it is because then-Senator Kevin Bryant used his status to become the ‘preferred pharmacy’ for Anderson Memorial Hospital System, earning his business millions more in government payments that he publicly argues against.
“If he doesn’t believe in Medicaid, then why would he accept millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursement funds at his pharmacy and why would the hospital use him as a ‘preferred pharmacy’?” Robertson asked. “It is illegal for an elected official to personally profit from or vote on legislation that would impact his or her business interests. When Bryant voted on any state budget measure or proviso that deals with Medicaid reimbursements, he violated that section of state law.”
“It is the duty of Attorney General Alan Wilson to investigate and prosecute all wrongdoing by our elected officials. Bryant’s misconduct is brazen both in its scope and its simplicity,” said South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson. “The Attorney General clearly has what he needs to begin an investigation, and he should appoint a special prosecutor if he feels that he is too personally connected to Bryant’s misconduct.”
In an op-ed written in the Anderson Independent-Mail in May 2011, Bryant made the point that “social programs should be reformed and must go to the truly needy, not the greedy…” Bryant has made sure that one of the few individuals benefitting from the Medicaid funds being spent in South Carolina today is himself.
