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.
They weren’t just accused, either. Earlier this year, they agreed to a $50 million settlement with the New York State AG, and agreed to a $350 million settlement with the AMA.
And these are the people providing ‘statistics’ that are actually being touted by the Rethugs in this debate. And the self-same Rethugs are the ones trying to torpedo health care reform. Call Tom Carper and tell him that the so-called bipartisan solution is being driven by phony numbers from a health care company masquerading as a research firm.
At least that way, when and if he betrays his Delaware constituents, we will know that he knew that polling showing opposition to the public option was fabricated.