Exposing the Studies Behind Health Care Hit Pieces

Original Link: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/26/757971/-Exposing-the-Studies-Behind-Health-Care-Hit-Pieces

By ExElephant

The leading study cited by the Heritage Foundation, and other 'inteelectual engines' flat earth society, cited over a dozen times on the House floor alone, and repeated ad infinitum in hearings and in the right wing echo machine is produced by an outfit called the Lewin Group.

Nowhere it is mentioned that this "Group" is in fact owned by a subsidiary of the 'double our profits by cutting coverage' heroes from United Health Care....

The right in General, and Heritage in particular; have placed great emphasis on a 'study', by the Lewin Group in attacking 'Obamacare'.

http://www.heritage.org/...

As a vet of 93-94 battle over the Clinton proposal, and schooled in the dark art of economics, I decided to read the report thinking I would find many dubious assumptions.

I only had to go to footnote 1 :

The Lewin Group is not an advocate for or against any legislation. The Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the UnitedHealth Group. To assure the independence of its work, The Lewin Group has editorial control over all of its work products

United Healthcare is the giant insurer that provoked outrage- or applause from the wingnut fringe last week when announcing a doubling of profits, while reducing coverage.

http://www.bizjournals.com/...

So a group in effect owned by United Health Care, has according to THOMAS, been cited by the right over a dozen times in the Congressional Record alone:

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. There's been an awful lot of misinformation about the Democrat health care proposal, Mr. Speaker, and so I would like to take just a couple of minutes tonight to talk to my colleagues about what's really happening and what will happen if this bill becomes law.

According to the Lewin Group , there will be 114 million Americans who could lose their current coverage under the bill according to this organization.....

and who knows how many more times in hearings, public statements etc.

In the immortal words of Senator to be John Blutarsky in Animal House ....'Bullshit"

http://www.youtube.com/...

Editorial control - you mean like Goldman Sachs oil analysts are independent of those at the manipulation ..er....trading desk ....

while most here are familiar with the work of Paul Krugman, let me suggest
visiting the site of another Princeton professor,Uwe Reinhardt - you might find some analysis and insight that is not self serving

http://www.princeton.edu/...