Grassley's Talking Points

Our own Senator Chuck Grassley should be a little more careful about the company he keeps, and whose talking points he uses.

In his July 23 editorial in the Des Moines Register, "Health-care reform should work for you," Grassley gives us a dire warning of what will happen if there's a public option for health care:

"I caution those who favor driving 119 million Americans into a government-run plan. The federal government is an unfair competitor and would run private insurers out of business, leading to a Canadian-style health-care system."

Setting aside the question of why private insurers could not compete with a government run system, the estimate of 119 million represents about 70% of individuals who now have private health insurance, and is far higher that any other estimates, including those provided by the Congressional Budget Office. Where did this figure come from?

It turns out this comes from a study published in April by a company called the Lewin Group. Senator Grassley describes the Lewin Group as a "think tank," but there's far more to the story. Grassley's just one of the many Republican Congressmen citing the Lewin Group as an "objective" source to bolster their argument against a public option for health care:



So who is this Lewin Group, and how objective are they? Well, at one time they actually were an independent research and consulting firm. They were purchased two years ago by Ingenix, the nation's largest provider of health-care billing information to companies like Aetna, UnitedHealth and CIGNA.

Ingenix made headlines earlier this year when they agreed to pay $400 million to settle lawsuits alleging that they distorted data to keep ("reasonable and customary") reimbursement rates artificially low, thereby reducing the payments owed by the insurance companies who use their data. Of course, this also means patients were forced to pay the difference.

By any measure, $400 million is a large settlement. But Ingenix is owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest health insurers, and they can afford it.

Senator Grassley should be a bit more careful about who he allows to put words in his mouth.