July 28th, 2009:

via Democrats cite CBO to boost healthcare case – Yahoo! News.

The CBO [Congressional Budget Office] report estimated only about 10 million to 11 million people would sign up for the public option by 2019, far fewer than the 103 million cited in another analysis by the Lewin Group. The Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.

The CBO report also estimated the Democratic proposal would boost enrollment in employer-based plans by about 12 million people because of the mandate for individuals to be insured.

Republicans often cite Lewin Group analysis to make their point that millions of people would lose their current health coverage if the proposed overhaul became law. But the CBO disputed the group’s conclusions.

“We anticipate that our estimate of the number of enrollees in the public plan would be substantially smaller than the Lewin Group’s, even if we assumed that all employers would have that option,” CBO said.

Pelosi and other Democratic leaders said their bill would move the healthcare system in a new direction after years of “immoral” profits by insurance companies — an accusation the insurance industry sharply rejected.

“For every dollar our country spends on health care, less than one penny goes toward health plans’ profits. In order to make health care more affordable for families and small businesses, we need to focus on the other 99 cents,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, which represents the industry.

The CBO has just debunked the Republican talking points concerning the cost of a public option – talking points like “a public option will drive over 100 million to government insurance”. Those talking points came from the Lewin Group – a think tank that is funded 100% by United Health.

Also – Robert Zirkelbach of AHIP says that only a penny of every dollar given to the health insurance industry is actually profit. He fails to mention that a trillion pennies add up to $10 billion. Besides, Zirkelbach’s figures are only good for 2008, a year in which the economy, and stock prices, tanked. A report released by the SEIU in August of 2008 tells the real story:

According to a new report examining financial trends in the insurance industry, the combined profits of the nation’s largest insurance companies and their subsidiaries increased by over 170 percent between 2003 and 2007.

If Democrats in Congress believe this B.S. from insurance lobbyists like AHIP and the Lewin Group, then we are doomed. We need to elect better Democrats.