United Healthcare CEO Assassinated But Many Americans Are Unsympathetic
Story by Maestro Joyner. Photo courtesy of Patrick Sison via The Associated Press.
On the morning of December 4, 2024, at 6:45 a.m. Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, the largest private health insurance provider in the US, was assassinated by a masked assailant in New York City outside the Hilton Hotel in broad daylight. The assailant then fled on a bicycle into Central Park. Thompson was in the city for an investors conference. Witnesses shared that they saw the shooter waiting outside the hotel all night, and when Thompson exited, he shot him at point blank range. This led the New York Police Department (NYPD) to suspect the attack was targeted, and they actively searched for the suspect.
Many Americans on social media were unsympathetic as they responded to the news. Users on many different platforms mocked and showed indifference to the CEO dying, since United Healthcare is infamous for denying Americans—from infants to elders—the coverage they need for medical issues, which has led to death or huge amounts of debt. Many users expressed their anger by using the same language healthcare insurance providers use when denying claims, such as “prior authorization needed,” “out-of-network,” and “pre-existing conditions.”
The online protesters' rationale for showing no sympathy for such comments is that billion dollar health insurance companies have the blood of thousands of people on their hands. The loss of a CEO who profits from this injustice feels fair and almost karmic for people who have lost loved ones due to insurance companies' denial of coverage. He had a net worth of $43 Million. As many continue to share their own experiences with United Healthcare, it has become clear why they are so fed up. People put their life and money in an insurance company's hands and instead of helping, the company lets their family members die, or leaves them in debt with no treatment.
Many Americans see the suspect, Luigi Mangione, now in custody, as a hero who stood up for a public that was fed up with mistreatment from big billion dollar insurance companies. Many made videos informing others about the trend that could happen if more people come together to address the issue of companies taking advantage of the middle and lower classes.
Moreover, users are also using this opportunity to share the many controversies that United Healthcare has been involved in, dating back to 2017, when the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit two times within the span of two weeks against UnitedHealth Group Inc—the parent company of United Healthcare – where UnitedHealth Group knowingly obtained adjusted payments by disregarding information about patients' medical conditions. To learn more about the lawsuit click here, To read about other controversies that involved United Healthcare click here.
United Healthcare has benefited from scamming patients and the government, as well as sacrificing many lives in the name of profit. As of 2024, it collected $74.9 billion dollars in revenue but only spent $4.2 billion from operations. And UnitedHealth Group Inc. collected $100.8 billion dollars in revenue, while only spending $8.7 billion in operations, putting profit over patients' well-being.
Maestro Joyner is a senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.