1). “UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting opens up 'volcanic' anger toward health insurance agencies: Activist speaks of 'epidemic of care denials across the country.' ”, Dec 7, 2024, Desiree Adib & Ivan Pereira, ABC News, at < https://abcnews.go.com/US/
2). “Who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson? What we know about the suspect on the run: 'Deny,' 'defend' and 'depose' were on shell casings at the scene, sources said”, Dec 6, 2024, Aaron Katersky, Mark Crudele, Josh Margolin, & Meredith Deliso, ABC News, at < https://abcnews.go.com/US/
3). “Torrent of Hate for Health Insurance Industry Follows C.E.O.’s Killing: The shooting death of a UnitedHealthcare executive in Manhattan has unleashed Americans’ frustrations with an industry that often denies coverage and reimbursement for medical claims”, Dec. 5, 2024, Dionne Searcey & Madison Malone Kircher, New York Times, at < https://www.nytimes.com/2024/
4). “Why 'we' want insurance executives dead: No, that does not mean people should murder them. But if you've watched a loved one suffer and die from insurance denial, it's normal to wish the people responsible would suffer the same fate”, Dec 05, 2024, Taylor Lorenz, Usermag, at < https://www.usermag.co/p/yes-
~~ recommended by dmorista ~
Introduction by dmorista: The Corporate Controlled and allied media has clutched their pearls and manifested shock and outrage over the killing of one rich priviledged executive in the insurance industry. Of course the toll of various types of killings & even planned torture / murders ( those of the 1,000 women who died horribly since the overturning of Roe) swamps the death of one rich CEO, even if he was a mild reformer. During the height of the Opiod death watch over 50,000 Americans died each year after being addicted to a pain killer that was formulated in such a way as to maximize addiction. Congress, and state legislatures holds hearing after hearing where grieving relatives carry photos of their corporately murdered children and the crass bought and bribed legislators never do anything substantive. The language of the comments includes references to the typical right-wing response to mass murders of our children at school, the “thoughts and prayers” of the common people submitting comments echoes the incredibly crass gun-rights protectors typical response after a mass school shooting.
Item 1)., “UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting ….” & Item 2)., “Who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO ….”, present the standard ruling class point of view, with just the slightest mention of the nightmare of for-profit Capitalist Health-care controlled by venal Insurance companies making coverage decisions with a biased AI system.
Item 3)., “Torrent of Hate ….”, writes up the ruling class point of view where they say:
“The fatal shooting on Wednesday of a top UnitedHealthcare executive, Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan sidewalk has unleashed a torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives. ….
“But that did not stop social media commenters from leaping to conclusions and from showing a blatant lack of sympathy over the death of a man who was a husband and father of two children.”
Item 4)., “Why 'we' want insurance executives dead: ….”, takes a nuanced approach rather than the typical statement from the Corporate Controlled Media that tries to turn the shooter into a evil killer. Item 4 states:
“Naturally, the mainstream media began pearl clutching in outrage. After I posted a quote tweet about insurance companies no longer paying for certain anesthesia with the phrase, 'And people wonder why we want these executives dead,' legacy media outlets including Fox News pounced and wrote a slew of articles about my 'calls for violence.'
“Let me be super clear: my post uses a collective 'we' and is explaining the public sentiment. It is not me personally saying 'I want these executives dead and so we should kill them.' I am explaining that thousands of Americans (myself included) are fed up with our barbaric healthcare system and the people at the top who rake in millions while inflicting pain, suffering, and death on millions of innocent people.”
This incident will mark some sort of change in U.S. socioeconomic relations. Most likely it will just see more bodyguards surrounding CEO's and public appearances from behind bullet proof screens and razor wire. But it is a key time to push for reforms.
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UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting opens up 'volcanic' anger toward health insurance agencies
Activist speaks of "epidemic of care denials across the country."
Fury, anger and resentment toward the health care industry have exploded in the public rhetoric in the wake of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killing and one activist said that "volcanic" eruption of emotion has been boiling up for years.
People have been flooding social media posts with statements chastising UHC for its policies, bringing up times they were personally denied coverage or hit with huge bills for services.
In some instances, some users have even praised Thompson's murder and the shooter, who is still on the lam and not been publicly identified as of Friday evening. UHC's Facebook post memorializing Thompson was filled with "laughing" emojis and comments chastising the insurer before comments were shut off.
Derrick Crowe, a spokesman for the nonprofit People's Action Institute, a social advocacy nonprofit that has protested UHC and other health care, told ABC News that he was horrified by Thompson's shooting and offered his condolences to his loved ones.
MORE: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest
However, he noted the anger online has been a long time coming.
"I think the reason that anger was pent up and it came out in such a volcanic way is that corporations have too much power in this country and they're standing in the way of dealing with two big epidemics," he told ABC News. "One is the epidemic of gun violence, which we saw an example of in Manhattan, and one is an epidemic of care denials across the country."
Crowe said more than 250 million health claims are denied annually by health insurance companies. He claimed the UHC "by far leads the clear care denials of people's claims when they're seeking health care."
He cited examples such as patients claiming they were denied coverage for a congenital defect or infant care.
"Many of the folks that we've talked to have had personal stories of needing acute health care quickly and have found that this company has been standing in their way," he said.
When asked by ABC News about the increase in rhetoric against the healthcare industry following the shooting, a UHC spokesperson deferred to its latest statement about Thompson's killing.
"While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring of kindness and support in the hours since this horrific crime took place. So many patients, consumers, health care professionals, associations, government officials and other caring people have taken time out of their day to reach out. We are thankful, even as we grieve," the statement said.
"Our priorities are, first and foremost, supporting Brian’s family; ensuring the safety of our employees; and working with law enforcement to bring the perpetrator to justice. We, at UnitedHealth Group, will continue to be there for those who depend upon us for their health care. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn the loss of their husband, father, brother and friend," the statement continued.
MORE: Who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson? What we know about the suspect on the run
In the past, protests have been held against UHC in Minneapolis, where its headquarters are based, including one back in July.
Crowe said that his organization has led many movements to call out the insurance companies for their practices.
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Who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson? What we know about the suspect on the run
“Deny,” “defend” and “depose" were on shell casings at the scene, sources said.
A suspect is on the loose in what police called the "brazen" targeted attack of Brian Thompson, the CEO of major insurance group UnitedHealthcare who was fatally shot outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel ahead of an investor conference on Wednesday.
The masked gunman appeared to be lying in wait outside the Hilton hotel in what police said was a "premeditated" attack. The shooter arrived at the scene about five minutes before Thompson before shooting the victim in the chest around 6:40 a.m., police said.
MORE: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot dead in Midtown Manhattan, masked gunman at large
Video captured the moment the backpack-wearing gunman walked up behind the CEO, pointed his gun at him and fired. A witness fled as Thompson stumbled and fell to the ground. The gunman then walked closer to Thompson, firing more times before fleeing on a bike.
Police said Friday they believe the gunman left New York City following the shooting -- ditching his bike on the Upper West Side and taking a taxi to a Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street. Police said they believe he boarded a bus there because they did not see him on video leaving the facility.
In another development in the investigation, police officers have recovered what is suspected to be the backpack carried by the suspected shooter, a source familiar with the case told ABC News. The bag was discovered Friday evening in Central Park, where the NYPD deployed an army of officers and drones to conduct a grid search, the source said.
Suspect stayed at hostel
Police appear to be closing in on the identity of the suspected shooter, sources told ABC News on Thursday morning.
The NYPD released on Thursday new photos of the suspect, seen without a mask, while asking for the public's help in identifying him. The images were taken from a surveillance camera at the HI New York City Hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Police had obtained a warrant to search after coming to believe the suspect stayed there, sources told ABC News.
Police were able to find an image of the suspect without his face mask because he was flirting with the woman who checked him into the hostel, police sources told ABC News.
As he stood at the check-in desk, the sources said the woman asked to see his smile. The suspected shooter obliged, pulling down his mask long enough for the surveillance camera to capture his face.
It appears the suspect shared a room with two other men, according to police sources.
The suspect likely checked into the hostel on Nov. 24, checked out and then checked back in again on Nov. 30, according to sources. It's not clear when the surveillance image was captured.
The suspected shooter checked into the hostel using a New Jersey license that wasn't his own, according to police sources. Detectives ran the name and found it did not resemble any known photos of the suspect or other evidence amassed so far, the sources said.
MORE: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect's movements: A timeline of before, during, after the shooting
Suspect arrived in NYC 10 days before shooting: Sources
The suspect came to New York City on Nov. 24 on a Greyhound bus, when a surveillance camera at Port Authority Bus Terminal caught his arrival at 9 p.m., law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The inbound bus originated in Atlanta but it was not immediately clear where the suspect boarded. The sources said he was spotted on board in Washington, D.C., so he boarded there or somewhere between D.C. and Atlanta.
Both Greyhound and the parent company of the hostel, Hostelling International USA, said in a statement that they are "fully cooperating with the NYPD" but cannot comment further due to the active investigation.
The 10-day period has been the focus of investigative efforts. Police have collected a lot of video of the suspect all over the city -- in the subway, in cabs, in a McDonald's, according to sources. Each place he paid with cash and he made sure to keep his mask on, according to sources.
Whereabouts day of the shooting
Police have released photos of the suspect in a mask, captured at a Starbucks near the hotel before the shooting, according to New York ABC station WABC. He was described by police as wearing a light brown or cream-colored jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers and a "very distinctive" gray backpack.
Sources told ABC News the suspected shooter was also seen on video much earlier, at 5 a.m. the day of the shooting, near the hostel carrying what appears to be an e-bike battery.
New cleared CCTV video shows a man who appears to be the suspect walking west on 55th Street at 6:19 a.m. The video shows him stoop down as he appears to momentarily drop an object on the garbage before continuing to walk.
Writing discovered on shell casings
Detectives later discovered writing on the shell casings found at the scene where Thompson was gunned down, police sources told ABC News.
Detectives were working to determine whether the words were meant as a message from the shooter and a hint at his motive.
Written on the shell casings were the words "deny," "defend" and "depose," according to sources.
Other evidence: cellphone, water bottle, candy wrapper
After the shooting, the suspect fled on foot into an alley, where a phone was recovered, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. He then fled on an e-bike and he was last seen riding into Central Park at 6:48 a.m., police said.
Police released photos of the suspect holding a firearm and on a bike.
Detectives have also retrieved a water bottle and candy wrapper from the area where he was apparently waiting, law enforcement sources said. After analysis, NYPD investigators believe the cellphone, candy wrapper and water bottle are linked to the shooter, police sources said.
Investigators believe they were able to score DNA samples from several pieces of the evidence, law enforcement sources told ABC News on Friday. The samples are currently at the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to be run through databases for a possible match, the sources said. That process could take a couple days.
At the same time, NYPD detectives are working with the U.S. Marshals Service to try and track down the shooter along with the FBI, which has the most sophisticated technology for retrieving usable data from cellphones, sources said.
Professional killer appears unlikely
The victim's hotel room has already been accessed by investigators, whose top priority is determining Thompson's most recent conversations and movements, sources said.
The working theory among detectives right now is that the shooting was carried out by someone who is not a professional killer because too many "mistakes" were made, sources said. Hitmen typically don't carry cell phones to their hits and the shots were fired from a distance that would be considered "too far" away from the victim, the sources said.
At this point, detectives are trying to determine whether Thompson was targeted because of some type of personal conflict or as a result of his work as an insurance executive, sources said. The killer apparently had some knowledge of Thompson's schedule on Wednesday and the fact that he would be arriving at the Hilton well before the company meeting was to begin, the sources said.
Police are interviewing Thompson's colleagues and family about any potential specific threats, Kenny said.
MORE: Who was UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?
What we know about the victim
Thompson, 50, was in New York City for the UnitedHealthcare investors conference, which was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. The conference was being held at the Hilton outside of which he was shot, but he was not staying there, police said.
UnitedHealthcare's parent company, UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the world, said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson."
"Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him," the company said. "We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. Our hearts go out to Brian's family and all who were close to him."
Police and the FBI urge the public to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or 1-800-CALL-FBI with any information. A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
"The purpose of that action was to draw attention to the epidemic of claims, denials and care denials across the country, and to bring people who have had their health care directly affected by a care denial by this corporation to the place where the denial is coming from, and to demand that they stop putting profits over people's lives," he said.
Crowe reiterated that his group only supports non-violent and peaceful means of protesting the industry and condemned Thompson's murder. However, he reiterated that the fight against greed in the health insurance industry needs to continue.
"We believe that in keeping with the principles behind the First Amendment, that there are democratic, powerful, nonviolent ways that we can take that private pain and turn it into public power when we bring people together. And we're going to continue to do that. And we think that's an essential part of making change in our democracy," he said.
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After UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting, Americans Express Frustration With Health Insurance Industry
The fatal shooting on Wednesday of a top UnitedHealthcare executive, Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan sidewalk has unleashed a torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives.
It is unclear what motivated the incident or whether it was tied to Mr. Thompson’s work in the insurance industry. The police have yet to identify the shooter who is still on the loose.
But that did not stop social media commenters from leaping to conclusions and from showing a blatant lack of sympathy over the death of a man who was a husband and father of two children.
“Thoughts and deductibles to the family,” read one comment underneath a video of the shooting posted online by CNN. “Unfortunately my condolences are out-of-network.”
On TikTok, one user wrote, “I’m an ER nurse and the things I’ve seen dying patients get denied for by insurance makes me physically sick. I just can’t feel sympathy for him because of all of those patients and their families.”
The dark commentary after the death of Mr. Thompson, a 50-year-old insurance executive from Maple Grove, Minn., highlighted the anger and frustration over the state of health care in America, where those with private insurance often find themselves in Kafka-esque tangles while seeking reimbursement for medical treatment and are often denied.
Dionne Searcey is a Times reporter who writes about how the choices made by people and corporations affect the future of the planet. More about Dionne Searcey
Madison Malone Kircher is a Times reporter covering internet culture. More about Madison Malone Kircher
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Why "we" want insurance executives dead
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Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot Wednesday outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, where the company was hosting its investor day. Thompson, 50, had been CEO of UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealth Group’s insurance arm, since 2021, overseeing a wide range of health plans and benefits.
Within seconds of the news breaking, people online began celebrating. A Facebook post by UnitedHealthcare about the CEO's passing was met with over 23,000 laughing emojis before it was taken down. "Health insurance companies are parasites siphoning blood money from the sick, dying and injured,” one user posted. “I'm only surprised it hasn't happened sooner.”
Twitter and Instagram users began remixing video of the shooting to pop songs and posting celebratory GIFs. “My empathy is out of network for this one,” one user said.
People with alternative insurance providers posted the "lord I have seen what you have done for others meme." When images of the shooter were released on Thursday morning, people began making fancams and thirsting after him. “Every woman I know is down catastrophic for the United Healthcare CEO assassin,” one Twitter user said.
Naturally, the mainstream media began pearl clutching in outrage. After I posted a quote tweet about insurance companies no longer paying for certain anesthesia with the phrase, "And people wonder why we want these executives dead," legacy media outlets including Fox News pounced and wrote a slew of articles about my "calls for violence."
Let me be super clear: my post uses a collective "we" and is explaining the public sentiment. It is not me personally saying "I want these executives dead and so we should kill them." I am explaining that thousands of Americans (myself included) are fed up with our barbaric healthcare system and the people at the top who rake in millions while inflicting pain, suffering, and death on millions of innocent people.
If you have watched a loved one die because an insurance conglomerate has denied their life saving treatment as a cost cutting measure, yes, it's natural to wish that the people who run such conglomerates would suffer the same fate.
As fellow journalist
posted, "No shit murder is bad. The [commentary and jokes] about the United CEO aren’t really about him; they’re about the rapacious healthcare system he personified and which Americans feel deep pain and humiliation about."This is what the media fails to understand. They don't see insurance CEOs who sanction the deaths of thousands of innocent people a year by denying them coverage, often coverage doctors deem medically necessary, as violent.
Journalist Kylie Cheung put it this way: "The way we're socialized to see violence only as interpersonal—not see state violence (policies that create poverty/kill), structural violence, institutional violence—is very deliberate."
User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.
People have very justified hatred toward insurance company CEOs because these executives are responsible for an unfathomable amount of death and suffering. I think it’s good to call out this broken system and the people in power who enable it. Again, not so they can be murdered, but so that we can change the system and start holding people in power accountable for their actions.
As ProPublica reported last year, "more than 200 million Americans are covered by private health insurance. But data from state and federal regulators shows that insurers reject about 1 in 7 claims for treatment. Many people, faced with fighting insurance companies, simply give up: One study found that Americans file formal appeals on only 0.1% of claims denied by insurers under the Affordable Care Act.
Insurers have wide discretion in crafting what is covered by their policies, beyond some basic services mandated by federal and state law. They often deny claims for services that they deem not 'medically necessary'" despite a doctor's orders.
When it comes to denying healthcare coverage, UnitedHealth stands above its competitors. The insurance company denies an average of 32% of claims, double the industry average.
UnitedHealth does this through myriad ways. In one instance, according to a recent lawsuit, it has used a deeply flawed AI algorithm that generates wildly inaccurate predictions in order to deny health coverage to severely ill patients by cutting the time they can spend in extended care. The AI system has a 90% error rate, and yet it remained in use.
These allegations were confirmed by Stat News, which found that UnitedHealth pushed employees to follow an algorithm to cut off Medicare patients’ rehab care.
UnitedHealthcare also recently settled for $15.7 million after being accused of illegally denying coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatments. Federal and state authorities found that the company imposed strict limits on behavioral health care which included the use of algorithms to deny extended care despite clinical justification. Meanwhile, UnitedHealthcare made $8.9 billion in profit through the first three quarters of this year alone.
I urge you to read this gutting investigation into UnitedHealth's well documented pattern of denying vulnerable patients essential treatments arbitrarily, with almost no recourse, simply to maximize profit, and ProPublica’s entire series on the cruelty of the insurance system. “Deny, deny, deny. That’s how you hit your numbers,” one insurance agent at a competing insurer explained.
The people who have had their coverage denied by UnitedHealth are not just numbers, these are human beings with lives and families and loved ones. Many of them are elderly, sick and vulnerable.
"Remembering the day United Healthcare denied a one-night hospital stay for my 12 year old child as 'medically unnecessary' following ASD heart repair surgery," one Twitter user posted.
"Today I’m thinking about the time United Healthcare suddenly decided to stop paying for my chemotherapy and didn’t bother telling me, so the nurses had to tell me when I checked in at the cancer center for my next treatment," another person said.
If you watch a loved one die because insurance has denied their life saving treatment as a cost cutting measure, yes, it's natural to wish that the people who run these systems would suffer the same fate.
Instead of centering the stories of those harmed by UnitedHealth and the very real outrage that most Americans feel about the way the healthcare system is run today, the media is publishing a tidal wave of breathless articles about the loss of "civility" and "respect" online.
Have some people’s jokes gone too far? Yes. Are some people being craven and cruel? Yes. Are some people irresponsibly calling for more violence? Yes. But to report on the online commentary surrounding Thompson's death without examining the systemic cruelty of our healthcare system is to willfully strip context from these online outpourings.
All of this is very intentional. The media, and especially journalists at places like Fox News, want you to be outraged at bad Twitter jokes and random heated comments. They want you to direct your anger at random people on Twitter who "took things too far," rather than question the system that led to these conditions in the first place.
And again, that does not mean I condone what many people have posted. I think it's deeply concerning that Americans feel like violence is the only way to get justice in our broken system. I wish the collective anger people are feeling could be channeled into more productive means of resistance that lead to lasting, systemic change.
"Every single person profiting off of and making the decisions that lead to people dying from lack of healthcare would suffer a trial and jail time at the least if we lived in a country with ACTUAL justice, but this is what we get," one social media user posted.
Healthcare, which 8 of 10 Americans feel is a “very important” issue, was treated as afterthought throughout the 2024 election. Biden stripped tens of millions of people of healthcare benefits shortly after he took office. Countless people saw their health insurance coverage rolled back as Democrats rescinded Medicaid expansion, paid sick leave, and increased unemployment benefits that were given at the start of the Covid pandemic. People lost all of these benefits while inflation soared, income stagnated, and poverty increased, The New Republic recently noted.
Instead of issuing mealy mouthed platitudes about civility and scolding social media users for getting emotional about an issue that materially affects their lives, Democrats could recognize the widespread public sentiment surrounding privatized healthcare and push for more progressive policies like universal coverage.
In the meantime, as the journalist Malcolm Harris put it, "[the] every life is precious" stuff about a healthcare CEO whose company is noted for denying coverage is pretty silly."
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