GOP REFUTES LIMBAUGH

On Wednesday, the very conservative Republican who is Florida's
attorney general urged the Legislature to create a computer network
that he believes will allow the state to better track abuse of
prescription painkillers.

On Wednesday, the very conservative Republican state senator who is
sponsoring the bill urged the Legislature to do the same.

On Wednesday, the state's drug czar -- who was appointed by the very
conservative Republican governor -- urged the Legislature to do the
same.

All of them acknowledged that they were trying to capitalize on the
publicity surrounding the very conservative talk-radio host who is
under investigation for "doctor-shopping," fraudulently obtaining
exessive amounts of prescription painkillers. So were all these very
conservative Republicans also "singling out" Rush Limbaugh?

Roy Black, who represents the bombastic host, never has missed a
chance to accuse Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer -- a
Democrat -- of investigating Mr. Limbaugh strictly for political
reasons. Yet when a Post reporter tried to ask about all the
references to the case by Republicans, Mr. Black was
unavailable.

No surprise. For the past three months, Mr. Black and his client have
tried to shift attention away from the issue -- prescription-drug
abuse. Mr. Limbaugh is being singled out. Mr. Limbaugh's privacy is
being invaded. When The Post reported last week that doctor-shopping
is a charge that is rarely filed in Florida, Mr. Black -- available
that time for comment -- claimed that the statistics supported his
charge of unfair treatment.

In fact, the statistics do nothing of the sort. For one thing, the
whole issue of prescription painkiller abuse is relatively new.
OxyContin abuse began getting the government's notice in Florida just
three years ago. The next year, the Republican-controlled Legislature
- -- singling out Mr. Limbaugh? -- made doctor-shopping a felony. Also,
it's obviously easier for prosecutors to pick up on cases where a
person has died because a doctor overprescribed such pills.

One only can imagine Mr. Limbaugh's reaction if, say, Chelsea Clinton
were the target of a similar investigation and her parents tried to
shift the focus. The reality is that Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port
Richey, not Mr. Krischer, said the state is in "crisis mode" on the
issue of painkiller abuse. Estimates are that the state is losing $1.3
billion from the Medicaid program because of related fraud. The number
of doctors who engage in such abuse is low, but the effects can be
deadly and devastating. Doctor-shopping is part of the problem. The
Republican Legislature says so.