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Brian Thompson, CEO of American health insurance company UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed outside the Hilton hotel in Manhattan on the morning of Wednesday 4th December 2024. The NYPD believe it was a premeditated attack but are yet to release an official motive as they are still searching for the suspect. At present, the suspect is believed to have fled New York and headed for Georgia, where police are currently searching for any clues as to his current whereabouts.
The day after the shooting, it was revealed that three words were inscribed onto the bullet casings from the scene: ‘delay, deny, and possibly depose’. Investigators believe these words could be in reference to the ‘three Ds of insurance’ which critics use to describe the actions of insurance companies in the US. The three Ds are delay, deny, and defend, and are used to describe the the tactics that insurance companies use to refuse claims.
Despite the tragic death of the CEO, the response from the American people has been decidedly mixed – unusual given the violent nature of the crime. The death of Brian Thompson has highlighted the negative attitudes of the public towards health insurance providers, as many take to social media to voice their frustrations. A post by UnitedHealthare on Facebook announcing the death of their CEO had over 40,000 laughing reactions, while other users have shared personal stories of how UnitedHealthcare denied their claims.
So why have people reacted this way? The frustrations levelled at American health insurance companies are nothing new, and the death of Brian Thompson has provided people with the opportunity to air their grievances. UnitedHealthcare, the country’s largest health insurance provider, rejects one third of the claims they receive while the national average sits at one fifth, leaving their substantial client based very displeased. In 2023, UnitedHealthcare settled a lawsuit over a claim that they had denied necessary medication. The lawsuit highlighted serious failings on the part of UnitedHealthcare, including ‘burying medical reports, ignoring warnings, and misrepresenting critical findings’.
Healthcare is a hot-button topic in America, and UnitedHealthcare is just one example of a failing institution. In recent weeks, health insurance company Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that they would be denying claims on anaesthesia costs for use that went over the estimated length of surgery. This caused massive backlash with concerns raised over surgical complications that often result in surgeries running longer than estimated. On the day after the shooting, Anthem claimed there had been lots of misinformation regarding the policy, but announced they would not be proceeding with it any further.
America’s consistent failings in the health sector are almost baffling, considering it is one of the most developed nations on the planet. A recent report found that the US ranked bottom out of ten developed countries for a variety of health-related matters including preventable deaths and treatment guarantees. Ironically, the US spends the most on healthcare out of these ten countries, which begs the question of how the money is being spent. A whopping 26 million Americans are currently without health insurance, so it should come as no surprise that the American people reacted to Thompson’s death this way. Health insurance in the US is quite literally a matter of life and death, and Americans are becoming more and more disenchanted with the exploitation and price gouging that runs rampant through the entire system.
Image: Chad Davis, ‘UnitedHealthcare Corporate Headquarters’, 2024 // CC BY 2.0
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