Torrent of Hate for Health Insurance Industry Follows C.E.O.’s Killing
Torrent of Hate for Health Insurance Industry Follows C.E.O.’s Killing
Dated: 2024-12-05. Added: 2024-12-05. Alternate title: “After UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Killing, Americans Express Frustration With Health Insurance Industry”.
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.
Don't be clueless, NYT. Similar to the blatant lack of sympathy shown by corporate execs over the damages their policies cause in the pursuit of infinite increases to the bottom line? I mean, after a few tens of thousands of collective years of life lost I guess human suffering is just a statistic... The C-suite is well paid enough to not waste too much concern over it. In fact, they probably get paid more for less money spent on those liabilities. All those people denied care were wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons....you get the idea. His life is NOT worth more than those he traded for shareholder approval.
The hate for our abusive and predatory "healthcare" system has been omnipresent for a very long time. This just gave us all a shared focal point to collect around. I hope this keeps building steam. This one act could lead to collective actions to make these companies scared. These CEOs, politicians, and billionaires NEED to know they are not untouchable. I supported a girlfriend through terminal cancer and saw how "selective" insurance companies can be on what diagnostics and treatments they'll allow. That shit radicalized me permanently.
Good. We pay more for healthcare than any other nation on the planet and the quality is lower than in many other nations. That's a proven fact.
I hope they're scared. They should be.
With Allsavers/United, holding the best policy my firm offered, it's still cheaper for me to fly outside of the US for the procedure(s) and have it completed without insurance That's all inclusive too, flights, hotels, taxi/uber, the actual operation, for a total of 4 flights, 4 visits/2 procedures and 20 days lodging & food, all combined.
Not a little mind you, over $40,000 USD upwards toward $60,000 USD saved.
What the actual fuck?
That hatred has always been there. Media is just focusing on it because someone actually did something about it.
A longtime employee of UnitedHealthcare said that workers at the company had been aware for years that members were unhappy. Mr. Thompson was one of the few executives who wanted to do something about it, said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the company does not allow workers to speak publicly without permission.
In speeches to employees, Mr. Thompson spoke about the need to change the state of health care coverage in the country and the culture of the company, topics other executives avoided, the employee said.
The speeches:
The killer apparently used a fake id at the hostile he stayed at, and as well intentionally dropped a burner phone in the alley as he left the scene of the crime
I live in SORROW at this Father and Husband being MURDERED! WHY couldn't they just Murder a Bunch of Children Instead! Or a POOR Father and Husband instead! Then I WOULDNT have cared!
Hatred for C suite leeches is a pre-existing condition, charges are denied
The jokes, etc comments aside, the worst thing we can do to health insurance companies is reform our system so they can't profit off of denying the care our doctors prescribe for us.
They're nothing but middlemen, and this system simply doesn't exist in other developed countries. They all have better care and they pay less than us for it. I realize this might be literally impossible to implement during a Trump/GOP presidency, but we as country can do the best thing for ourselves, while also giving the insurance companies the finger by passing some form of single payer/universal health care.
Got no hate. Just zero sympathy. Live life at the expense of others, but don't be surprised if they fail to care for you in return.
Not enough really...
If governments should be afraid of their people, and we're governed by oligarchs, then the oligarchs should be afraid of the people.
QED
🍽🍽🍽🍽🍽🍽🍽
Someone get someone from public relations to start spin now!
C.E.O. Shooting
liveUpdates 4m ago What We Know Manhunt for Suspect Who Was Brian Thompson? How N.Y.P.D. Is Using Cameras You have been granted access, use your keyboard to continue reading. 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.
Share full article 1.4k A woman wearing a winter coat stands in front of a crime scene as she holds a microphone. Messages found on bullet casings at the scene of the Wednesday shooting — “delay” and “deny” — are two words familiar to many Americans who have interacted with insurance companies.Credit...Karsten Moran for The New York Times Dionne SearceyMadison Malone Kircher By Dionne Searcey and Madison Malone Kircher Dec. 5, 2024 Updated 4:09 p.m. ET 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.”
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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.
Messages that law enforcement officials say were found on bullet casings at the scene of the shooting in front of a Midtown hotel — “delay” and “deny” — are two words familiar to many Americans who have interacted with insurance companies for almost anything other than routine doctor visits.
More in New York Brian Thompson, Chief Executive of UnitedHealthcare, Dies at 50Dec. 4, 2024 1 Dead and Over 70 Displaced After Senior Center FireDec. 4, 2024 Relatives of Subway Choking Victim Must Relive His Death DailyDec. 1, 2024 Mr. Thompson was chief executive of his company’s insurance division, which reported $281 billion in revenue last year, providing coverage to millions of Americans through the health plans it sold to individuals, employers and people under government programs like Medicare. The division employs roughly 140,000 people.
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Mr. Thompson received a $10.2 million compensation package last year, a combination of $1 million in base pay and cash and stock grants. He was shot to death as he was walking toward the annual investor day for UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare’s parent company.
Stephan Meier, the chair of the management division at Columbia Business School, said the attack could send shock waves through the broader health insurance industry.
About seven chief executives of publicly traded companies die each year, he said, but almost always from health complications or accidents. A targeted attack could have much larger implications.
“The insurance industry is not the most loved, to put it mildly,” Mr. Meier said. “If you’re a C-suite executive of another insurance company, I would be thinking, What’s this mean for me? Am I next?”
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A longtime employee of UnitedHealthcare said that workers at the company had been aware for years that members were unhappy. Mr. Thompson was one of the few executives who wanted to do something about it, said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the company does not allow workers to speak publicly without permission.
In speeches to employees, Mr. Thompson spoke about the need to change the state of health care coverage in the country and the culture of the company, topics other executives avoided, the employee said.
It's only the beginning.
Wait a minute.... Is this an idea that putin is considering now? Oh yeah, I feel so confused! Oh very politically disoriented.... Hopefully our precious oligarchs don't fall from tall building. Must use correct English now.