When a medical insurance CEO was shot dead, people celebrated his death. What does this tell us about American healthcare?
By Richard Hall
December 6, 2024
When the CEO of one of the largest medical insurance companies in the United States was gunned down on the street in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, his death quickly turned into a larger conversation about the much-reviled industry in which he worked.
Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, had been in New York City for a conference when he was killed in what police believe was a targeted shooting.
Among hundreds of posts on social media about the shocking murder, many people were moved to talk about the injustice of the health insurance industry. Often the dark jokes on X, Instagram, Reddit and TikTok spoke to how cruel medical insurance companies can be to their customers. Some even wrote folk songs about the event.
“The bullet hit the CEO outside of his allotted benefit window, so he’s not eligible for emergency treatment,” wrote one person on X in response to a post about the killing.
One Reddit user posted: “A man is dead, and no one really cares. Huh. Sounds like business as usual for United Health isn’t it?”
An announcement on the Facebook page of UnitedHealthcare announcing Thompson’s death had 42,000 laugh emoji reactions by Thursday afternoon.
Others shared personal stories about how the health insurance industry had denied coverage to their loved ones or laden them with debt.
“His company put multiple of my family members in debt they will be paying for the rest of their lives & denied care for my uncle which led to his death. Brian Thompson killed people. Full stop,” wrote one person.
“Remembering the day United Healthcare denied a one-night hospital stay for my 12yo child as ‘medically unnecessary’ following ASD heart repair surgery,” wrote another.
The response has echoes of the celebrations over the death of Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state, whom many around the world held responsible for bombing campaigns in Cambodia that killed hundreds of thousands of people. When he died in November 2023, social media was similarly flooded with memes celebrating his passing.
Distasteful though they may be, the reactions to Thompson’s murder have revealed a deep anger among many Americans about the unfairness of the US health insurance industry. And among those speaking out were doctors, professors, politicians and people who’d suffered their own insurance denials.
“Currently, over 1,000 people go bankrupt daily, solely due to personal medical bills. Anyone who can make millions of dollars overseeing a system like this, and sleep well at night doesn’t deserve my sympathy,” Beau Forte, a former Green Party candidate for Congress in New Jersey who ran on a platform calling for universal healthcare, told The Independent.
Forte, who ran for office because his father was unable to receive care from his medical insurance provider after suffering a series of illnesses, was among hundreds who posted viral tweets excoriating Thompson after his death.
“How is it appropriate to ask me if I feel bad if the person in charge of the biggest company that allows this to happen if I feel bad about it? Apologies if that seems harsh, but that’s where I stand,” he added.
Forte was not alone.
“Today, we mourn the death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down…. wait, I’m sorry – today we mourn the deaths of the 68,000 Americans who needlessly die each year so that insurance company execs like Brian Thompson can become multimillionaires,” wrote a professor at Columbia University in a post that garnered 3.5 million views.
The reaction comes amid growing complaints from consumers about rising healthcare costs, denial of coverage and high deductibles.
UnitedHealthcare itself had faced scrutiny over denying claims to its customers. A Senate committee concluded earlier this year that three major companies – UnitedHealthcare, Humana and CVS, which owns Aetna – were intentionally denying claims for nursing care to patients to increase profits.
The company was also accused in a lawsuit of using a faulty AI algorithm to deny elderly patients extended care.
Data on how many medical insurance claims are denied is notoriously…
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