Community | July 23, 2009 | 7 comments

Research Firm Cited by GOP Is Owned by Health Insurer

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR2009072202216.html?hpid=to...

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WakeUpPeople

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR200...

The political battle over health-care reform is waged largely with numbers, and few number-crunchers have shaped the debate as much as the Lewin Group, a consulting firm whose research has been widely cited by opponents of a public insurance option.

To Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Republican whip, it is "the nonpartisan Lewin Group." To Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, it is an "independent research firm." To Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the second-ranking Republican on the pivotal Finance Committee, it is "well known as one of the most nonpartisan groups in the country."

Generally left unsaid amid all the citations is that the Lewin Group is wholly owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest insurers.

More specifically, the Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association, a physician's group, of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data. Ingenix supplied its parent company and other insurers with data that allegedly understated the "usual and customary" doctor fees that insurers use to determine how much they will reimburse consumers for out-of-network care.

In January, UnitedHealth agreed to a $50 million settlement with the New York attorney general and a $350 million settlement with the AMA, covering conduct going back as far as 1994.

Ingenix chief executive Andrew Slavitt said the Ingenix data was never biased, but Ingenix nonetheless agreed to exit that particular line of business. "The data didn't have the appearance of independence that's necessary for it to be useful," Slavitt said.
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7 comments // Research Firm Cited by GOP Is Owned by Health Insurer

  • kennymotown
    • 0
      kennymotown  

    • And like we didn't know that already occhipij. The point is holding their feet to the fire. I think the august break will be a good time to fire up the town hall meetings and let them have it both barrels.

    • 3 years ago
  • kennymotown
    • 0
      kennymotown  

    • Well I have said it before and I will say it again the Republicans are a lost party and the support for killing health care is quite obviously supported by these Mafia types and I see no reason why we can't put them in jail. Honestly what fucking liars.

    • 3 years ago
  • masterzip
    • 0
      masterzip  

    • a true "Thank You for Smoking" moment

      cigarette companies used the same business strategy,..and I am 100% certain oil companies do this too.

    • 3 years ago
  • wayseeker
  • TenGig
    • 0
      TenGig  

    • Well, of course the GOP can't use an actual independent source of data. They'd never get the "correct" conclusions, which they've already reached, that would keep the money in their campaign coffers.

    • 3 years ago
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  

    • omg, how shocking. i can't believe that there is a misinformation campaign out there trying to convince people to oppose the public option. //end sarcasm...

    • 3 years ago

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