Health insurers looked forward to an improvement in the political environment within the Trump administration. Things may not turn out to be so simple.
After four years of rigorous monitoring Under President Biden, a Donald Trump victory should pave the way for regulatory relief, particularly for the Medicare Advantage Sector. Trump's choice to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said TV personality Mehmet Oz. strong support for private insurers. Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for Health and Human Services secretary, is a harsh critic of the pharmaceutical and food industries, with virtually no mention of insurance companies.
But following the fatal shot According to a UnitedHealth Group executive, there has been a wave of negative public opinion toward private insurers. “I remember the day United Healthcare denied an overnight hospital stay for my 12-year-old as 'medically unnecessary' following heart repair surgery for ASD,” wrote a user on. Another shared this: “Today I'm thinking about the time United Healthcare suddenly decided to stop paying for my chemotherapy and didn't bother to tell me.” A Facebook post from the company expressing sadness over the killing of Brian Thompson, chief executive of the insurance unit, sparked more than 70,000 laughing emojis. “Considerations and prior approvals,” said a typical comment.
Joking about killing a human being – a husband and a father – is deeply insensitive. Claims made about UnitedHealthcare by individuals on X have not been independently verified. And it goes without saying that no one should face threats or violence, no matter how contentious the health policy debate may be.
Yet the negative sentiments expressed toward health insurers cannot be ignored, including from policymakers, the companies themselves, and their shareholders. At the very least, they highlight widespread anger at the perceived dysfunction of the American health care system and reveal it to be even more deeply rooted than it might have previously been understood. In recent years, insurers have been accused of refuse coverage to protect their profit margins, a criticism the killer appears to have alluded to with the words “deny”, “defend” and “depose” scrawled with permanent marker on bullet casings found outside the Midtown Hilton.
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