Two years before Brian Thompson was shot dead in the streets of New York, a message from health insurance officials received a series of anguished and angry reactions.
“Making health care more affordable means more money in people's pockets,” Thompson, chief executive of UnitedHealth Group's insurance unit, wrote on LinkedIn. “It’s more important than ever right now. Reducing drug prices and improving price transparency are two ways we are working to reduce costs for UnitedHealthcare members.
Below the message, few praised this feeling. “I’m curious, the money in whose pockets?” one user wrote. “It appears that members are not the main beneficiaries when the ratio of median CEO to employee salary is 30:1 and revenues increase by more than 10% in a year. »
Another recounted how her 86-year-old mother's health care plan was terminated without notice.
“Do better,” said one woman who said she was diagnosed with stage four cancer but was forced to end her insurance coverage after UnitedHealth denied her medication. “Every month there is a different reason for refusal. As of today, we are well over our spending maximum for the year, having spent well over $20,000. [£16,000]. Since we are in our 60s, we don't have time to get this back.
Now, Thompson's murder at the hands of a masked assassin has unleashed a new torrent of anger in the American public over the state of the country's health care system.
There is speculation that the motive for Brian Thompson's murder is linked to his work at UnitedHealthcare – NYPD News/Handout via Reuters
For some, sympathy seems lacking. Hours after the killing, videos appeared online in which nurses and patients posted horror stories about their experiences with health insurers. Under a video of the shooting on CNN, a commentator said: “Thoughts and candies to the family. Unfortunately, my condolences are off-grid.
A manhunt is still underway for the attacker in Thompson's attack and his motive is unknown. However, speculations multiply that he had been targeted because of his work in the health insurance industry. Speaking to reporters this week, Thompson's ex-wife suggested he had been the victim of threats in the past. She added that it may be a matter of health care “coverage.”
The evidence discovered Thursday only fueled the theory that Thompson's work played a role in the attack. Law enforcement revealed that shell casings were found at the crime scene, which had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them.
Some have suggested that this could be a reference to tactics used by insurers to avoid paying claims to patients, with a book published in 2010 called Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.
In the book, author Jay Feinman writes: “All insurance companies have an incentive to eliminate customers in order to increase their profits. »
Frustration with the state of the American health care system has been building for years. Speaking in April, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders said: “This is a system that is not designed to provide health care to all in a cost-effective manner. It is a system designed to generate huge profits for insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and many other industries within the system. He said this system was “totally broken”.
Insurers say it's the drugmakers who reap the profits, not them. However, there are obvious problems at play. In the United States, 85 million people are uninsured or underinsured. For those who pay for insurance, it represents a significant portion of their salary.
In 2022, health insurance was just behind salaries in employee compensation, with 7.9% of their payroll. The costs of employer-sponsored family health insurance plans have only increased since then, up 7% this year to $25,572.
Many of those who are covered say they are overcharged for services they say should be covered by their insurance.
A study by the Commonwealth Fund earlier this year found that more than two in five working-age adults had received a bill or been charged a co-payment – a fixed amount patients must pay before insurers didn't offer coverage – for a health service they thought should have been covered by insurance.
This led to growing resentment toward health insurers. According to a Gallup survey, less than a third of Americans have a positive view of the healthcare industry. Only oil and gas, the federal government and pharmaceutical companies fare worse.
“Refusal rates” are particularly criticized by those who deal with insurers. Although companies are not required to publish how often they deny claims, official studies say the problem is significant.
A Senate committee investigation earlier this year claimed that the industry's three largest companies — UnitedHealthcare, Humana and CVS — were all denying nursing care to people who had suffered falls and strokes. He accused UnitedHealthcare of denying requests for nursing stays three times more often than for other services. The companies refuted the report.
For now, all UnitedHealthcare leaders can do is mourn their colleague. Andrew Witty, chief executive of parent company UnitedHealth Group, said the case was a “terrible tragedy.”
“Our thoughts are with his family, especially his mother, his wife Paulie, his brother and his two boys, who lost a father today,” he said.
Yet not everyone can appreciate the human tragedy of this case. As one nurse said on TikTok: “I just can't feel sympathy for him because of all these patients and their families. »
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