Wednesday, July 22, 2009

When "non-partisan" and "independent research" equal astroturf

Just about anytime you hear those words coming from a Republican mouth it is probably true that he or she is lying. The latest burst of sunshine shriveling the GOP world is the revelation that one of the more quotable "nonpartisan independent research" groups used by the GOP in their fight to keep Americans from wasting America's precious health care resources is a wholly owned subsidiary of a major US health scam corporation.
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.
Fancy that, they have already been caught lying for fun and profit. Another of the many surprises paid for by premium dollars instead of being wasted on coverage.

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