In UnitedHealthcare CEO鈥檚 killing, industry frustration crowds out empathy
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Patrik Jonsson Staff writer
Gina Moffa, a New Yorker, walked by the scene of the fatal shooting of health care industry CEO Brian Thompson on her way home from the doctor鈥檚 office on Thursday afternoon, just one day after the attack.
Moments before, she discovered her insurance deductible hadn鈥檛 been met. So she had to pay an unexpected $1,600 for the office visit.
Ms. Moffa is hardly alone in feeling overwhelmed by the costs and complexities of the U.S. health system. Between 2005 and 2022, the share of working-age Americans struggling with medical-bill problems or debts , according to a survey by The Commonwealth Fund. An analysis by KFF, an independent health care research group, estimates that people in the United States owe at least in medical debt.
Why We Wrote This
The shooting of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare has put a spotlight on frustrations over medical debt and lack of security for threatened executives.
Such pressures may have been a factor in the assassination-style killing of the leader of America鈥檚 largest health insurance company Wednesday morning, according to evidence gathered by police so far. Those pressures may also explain the lack of empathy seen in a number of public comments about the killing, says Ms. Moffa, a clinical social worker, who lives on Manhattan鈥檚 West Side.
A sign of motive? 鈥淒eny,鈥� 鈥渄efend,鈥� and 鈥渄epose.鈥�
Detectives say the words 鈥渄eny,鈥� 鈥渄efend,鈥� and 鈥渄epose鈥� were written on shell casings discovered at the scene of Wednesday morning鈥檚 shooting, NBC reported. These apparent messages from the shooter echo critics who say the insurance industry has deployed a strategy of 鈥渄elay, deny, defend鈥� to reduce the number of claims paid.
Peterson-KFF Health Tracker System
The health insurance industry in some polls ranks as one of the least trusted in America. That doesn鈥檛 mean the typical American would have any support for this week鈥檚 shooting death. But an empathy vacuum was reflected on social media this week, where the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University identified thousands of posts cheering Mr. Thompson鈥檚 death.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a bigger conversation at play here that we鈥檙e trying to push down the way we always do,鈥� says Ms. Moffa, author of 鈥淢oving On Doesn鈥檛 Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss.鈥� 鈥淏ut what I think can鈥檛 be ignored is that so many millions of people lack empathy, and we have to understand why.鈥�
Concerns about security for CEOs
Police have not yet confirmed the shooter鈥檚 identity or motive. But Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York Police Department, called it a 鈥減remeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.鈥�
According to his wife, Paulette, Mr. Thompson had reportedly received threats related to coverage decisions. Medical industry professionals also saw threats against them rise during the pandemic.
But despite two protests earlier this year related to coverage denials at the company鈥檚 headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Mr. Thompson was alone and unguarded on Wednesday. He was killed just before dawn as he walked to a conference from a New York hotel in midtown. The shooter, who appears in police-issued photos as a slim young man in a hooded sweatshirt, fled via an e-bike and disappeared into Central Park. A massive search ended its second day Thursday without finding the gunman.
The killing has stirred discussion of whether corporate executives often lack appropriate security protection.
It has also put a focus on one of America鈥檚 largest and . In part, public reactions reflected how social media often rewards expressions of schadenfreude or the feeling of satisfaction when another person struggles.
Many also expressed sympathy for Mr. Thompson, his family and the rule of law. 鈥淭his is horrifying news,鈥� Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig wrote on the social media platform X. 鈥淭his kind of violence is never acceptable.鈥�
But the celebratory responses continued, echoing the way some people reacted positively to President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 near-assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this year and snidely to the loss of wealthy explorers touring the Titanic wreck last year.
鈥淲hen other鈥檚 human lives are deemed worthless, it is not surprising to have others view your life of no value as well,鈥� wrote one medical doctor on social media.
Insurer鈥檚 denial rates more than doubled
UnitedHealthcare is America鈥檚 largest health insurer. A Senate report released this year found that the firm鈥檚 services denial rate after a serious medical issue almost tripled in recent years, increasing from 8.7% to 22.7% between 2019 and 2022. Some critics have described this shift as evidence of profiteering.
There are ample signs of other firms pursuing higher profits, too. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield recently announced cap on coverage of anesthesia in three states, drawing protests. On Thursday, with the news of Mr. Thompson鈥檚 death amplifying public outcry about the industry, the company reversed that plan. 鈥淒on鈥檛 mess with the health and well-being of New Yorkers 鈥� not on my watch,鈥� warned a statement Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, one of the states where customers would have faced the cutbacks.
At the same time, there are some rising efforts to alleviate medical debt and curb the costs of borrowing in the U.S. After the three main credit rating agencies found that medical debt wasn鈥檛 a good predictor of creditworthiness, the 14% of Americans who had unpaid medical debt on their reports in 2022 dwindled to 5% by the middle of 2023.
For many, like Ms. Moffa, responses to the shooting reveal that 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for us to look at nuance and be able to hold two opposing thoughts at one time,鈥� says Ms. Moffa. Many people feel their health insurance needs aren鈥檛 being met. Yet Mr. Thompson was also a human being.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very complicated story that brings out larger themes in people鈥檚 lives and feeling prioritized and cared about by corporations.鈥�
