By Sriparna Roy
(Reuters) – Shares of health insurance companies including UnitedHealth Group continued to fall on Friday, two days after Brian Thompson, CEO of the company's health insurance unit, was fatally shot outside a hotel from Manhattan by an armed man who was waiting for him.
The shooter remains at large and the motive for his attack has not been determined, police officials said.
Thompson's death sparked a broad conversation on social media about the frustrations of navigating America's health insurance system, particularly when medical bills aren't covered or insurance claims or applications for care is refused.
“The anti-insurer sentiment expressed by the public after this event suggests that UnitedHealth and perhaps the industry may need to adjust how they handle coverage decisions,” said Julie Utterback, an analyst at Morningstar.
Shares of UnitedHealth were down 4.8% on Friday after falling 5% on Thursday. Rival insurers Elevance, Centene, CVS Health and Cigna also fell between 1% and 3% in afternoon trading. These stocks also all lost ground on Thursday.
The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were carved into shell casings found at the scene, police sources told ABC and the New York Post. These words evoke the title of Jay Feinman's 2010 book criticizing the American insurance industry: “Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
Social media sites have been flooded with angry posts attacking companies and users sharing their personal frustrations over coverage denials and how they were denied needed care, as well as sarcastic videos containing unsympathetic messages such as that “thoughts and prayers require prior authorization.”
Health insurance companies are reassessing the risks to their top executives, with UnitedHealth and CVS removing photos of their executive teams from their websites after the shooting.
Potential changes in hedging decisions may be driven by internal initiatives or external pressures that could pose risks to earnings, Utterback said.
The insurance industry has faced higher costs in recent quarters due to increased demand for health care under government-backed Medicare plans for the elderly or disabled, as well as changes in Medicaid eligibility in states, which left insurers with more patients. who need more medical services.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bangalore; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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