1. “Insurer-Owned Consulting Firm Often Cited in Health Debate” David S. Hilzenrath

2. Obama Health Care Plan Third Party Advocacy : Lewin Group The research produced by the Lewin Group is “widely cited by opponents of a public insurance option.”

3. Obama Health Care Plan Republican Opinion on Lewin Group: To Rep Eric Cantor (Va.), 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 G. Hatch (Utah), the second-ranking Republican on the pivotal Finance Committee, it is "well known as one of the most nonpartisan groups in the country.”

4. Obama Health Care Plan Who is the Lewin Group? 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. Lewin's clients include the government and groups with a variety of perspectives, including the Commonwealth Fund and the Heritage Foundation. 4

5. Obama Health Care Plan Influence of Lewin Group? Lewin produced one of the most widely cited statistics of the health-care debate: Under a particular version of a public option, the number of people with private, employer-sponsored coverage would decline by more than 100 million. 5

6. Obama Health Care Plan Citing Lewin: Opponents of the public option have invoked the finding as proof that offering a government-run health plan would deprive people of their employer-sponsored coverage and lead to a government takeover of the health-care system. Example: Cantor "The nonpartisan Lewin Group predicts that two out of three Americans who get their health care through their employer would lose it under the House Democrat plan," Cantor, the second-ranking member of the House Republican leadership, said in a July 12 commentary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 6

7. Obama Health Care Plan Citing Lewin: Opposition to Public Option Insurance companies have been trying to block the public option, saying it would undercut their prices and put them out of business by slashing payments to doctors and hospitals. 7