Lewin group linked to private insurers

Apr. 17th, 2009 by Andrew Van Dam
Filed under: Conflicts of interest, Health journalism, Hot Health Headline 

In the Columbia Journalism Review, Trudy Lieberman, president of AHCJ’s board of directors, scolded journalists for not mentioning that Lewin Group, the consultants who released a recent study claiming that a public insurance option would cost doctors and hospitals money, is ultimately part of a major insurance company.

(Lewin Group is) part of Ingenix, which is owned by United Healthcare Group, the insurance behemoth that has been buying up insurance companies left and right, expanding its reach into just about every segment of the health-insurance market. Its flagship, UnitedHealthcare, helps make it the largest health insurer in the country. It’s a safe bet that United is not too keen on a public plan that might shrink its business.

The relationship is disclosed in the study and Lieberman turned up evidence indicating that there may be no formal protections in place for Lewin Group’s editorial independence. She wondered why journalists, particularly those behind a widely used AP story, did not provide readers with any information or context on Lewin’s insurance industry ties and called on reporters to remedy their error next time Lewin Group comes up.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , ,

Comments

18 Comments on Lewin group linked to private insurers

  1. Report compares reform estimates, finds huge savings : Covering Health on Tue, 9th Jun 2009 2:00 PM

    2. [...] vary widely between the three efforts, with the Lewin Group (which has some ties to the insurance industry) generally giving the rosiest predictions. The federal reports generally focus exclusively on [...]

  2. FAIR Blog » Blog Archive » Policing the Debate on Health Reform on Fri, 26th Jun 2009 4:12 PM

    3. [...] to Obama from the CEO of the major insurance company Aetna, as well as the head of the Lewin Group–which is owned by another major health insurance company, the United Healthcare [...]

  3. Policing the Debate on Health Reform « Single Payer Westchester on Tue, 30th Jun 2009 1:25 PM

    4. [...] from the CEO of the major insurance company Aetna, as well as the head of the Lewin Group–which is owned by another major health insurance company, the United Healthcare [...]

  4. My reply to lil mike | The Velvet StraitJacket on Mon, 6th Jul 2009 4:35 PM

    5. [...] read your Lewin Group PDF analysis it was interesting.. until I Googled them and found out [...]

  5. Exposing the Sources – A Special Howey Truth Squad Report « Welcome to My World on Fri, 17th Jul 2009 8:15 AM

    6. [...] Lewin Group Linked to Private Insurors In the Columbia Journalism Review, Trudy Lieberman, president of AHCJ’s board of directors, scolded journalists for not mentioning that Lewin Group, the consultants who released a recent study claiming that a public insurance option would cost doctors and hospitals money, is ultimately part of a major insurance company. [...]

  6. Reporters miss crucial detail about Lewin Group : Covering Health on Fri, 17th Jul 2009 9:49 AM

    7. [...] referring to the Lewin Group as a nonpartisan organization, yet AHCJ president Trudy Lieberman pointed out in April that the group is ultimately part of United Healthcare Group, a major insurance…. Lieberman turned up evidence indicating that there may be no formal protections in place for Lewin [...]

  7. UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc. reported a second quarter profit of $859 million « Dummidumbwit’s Weblog on Fri, 24th Jul 2009 5:36 PM

    8. [...] Lewin group linked to private insurers Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Reform Health Care Now: Insurance reimbursements make no senseInsurance Co. Profit Scheme?Ten Questions on the Health-Care Overhaul [...]

  8. Health Care is a scam: Reform now! - Politics and Other Controversies - Page 3 - City-Data Forum on Mon, 27th Jul 2009 2:30 PM

    9. [...] [...]

  9. Health Care is a scam: Reform now! - Politics and Other Controversies - Page 4 - City-Data Forum on Mon, 27th Jul 2009 3:38 PM

    10. [...] the health insurance companies get their propoganda out…by cover of darkness. Evil, evil people. Lewin group linked to private insurers : Covering Health I actually knew that … and find it [1] amusing that a number of prominent Republicans in [...]

  10. Why Republicans Are Against Healthcare Reform - Modern Conspiracy on Mon, 27th Jul 2009 10:50 PM

    11. [...] a safe bet that United is not too keen on a public plan that might shrink its business. Source: HealthJournalism.org But hey, no need to be alarmed, this is merely the same UnitedHealthCare that settled a case for [...]

  11. Lewin group linked to private insurers - Politics and Other Controversies - City-Data Forum on Wed, 29th Jul 2009 2:40 AM

    12. [...] Lewin group linked to private insurers (Lewin Group is) part of Ingenix, which is owned by United Healthcare Group, the insurance behemoth that has been buying up insurance companies left and right, expanding its reach into just about every segment of the health-insurance market. Its flagship, UnitedHealthcare, helps make it the largest health insurer in the country. It

  12. democrats reach health care deal - Politics and Other Controversies - Page 5 - City-Data Forum on Wed, 29th Jul 2009 2:39 PM

    13. [...] It

  13. SSO on Wed, 29th Jul 2009 6:35 PM

    14. Ok, so the real question is is the Lewin Group, right?

    As soon as people start attacking the messenger, it’s a good sign that the messenger is correct.

  14. from GOPUSA - Politics and Other Controversies - City-Data Forum on Fri, 31st Jul 2009 9:58 AM

    15. [...] The Lewin Group who is touted by the GOP as being bipartisan is a lie… The Lewin Group is owned by United Health Care. Lewin group linked to private insurers : Covering Health [...]

  15. 5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About The Health Care Reform Bill. - SocialLeft on Sun, 16th Aug 2009 12:28 PM

    16. [...] You may notice that whenever you see a Republican or conservative strategist on television talking about health care reform you usually hear them cite a “recent study” by the Lewin Group that illustrates how the Obama health care reform bill will cost hospitals and doctors money and threaten the economy. But wait a second. Who the heck is the Lewin Group? The (Lewin Group is) part of Ingenix, which is owned by United Healthcare Group, the insurance behemoth that has been buying up insurance companies left and right, expanding its reach into just about every segment of the health-insurance market. Its flagship, UnitedHealthcare, helps make it the largest health insurer in the country. It’s a safe bet that United is not too keen on a public plan that might shrink its business. -  HealthJournalism.org [...]

  16. Jacob Hacker reacts to the Lewin Group report « A Third Way Centrist on Sun, 6th Sep 2009 3:42 AM

    17. [...] Group report Posted on September 6, 2009 by Rob W Jacob Hacker responds to the recent Lewin Group report on the public health insurance plan and offers his own report, backed up by months of [...]

  17. Covering Health: First year’s most popular posts : Covering Health on Wed, 18th Nov 2009 9:49 AM

    18. [...] Lewin group linked to private insurers [...]

  18. Healthcare redux: Sheldon’s smackdown, “Kill Bill” vol. 3, the legacy express : The Reid Report on Mon, 4th Jan 2010 10:32 PM

    19. [...] relatively credible, if a bit right wing, opinion piece, until he cited the insurance company-owned Lewin Group as the source for his predictions. So much for credibility. WaPo, what’s up? (The folks at [...]

Please read our blog commenting policies.