| Nobody yet knows the motive behind the cold-blooded shooting
of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson outside a New York hotel
just after dawn on Wednesday. In a particularly chilling note, the
words “delay” and “depose” were written on bullets involved in the shooting. This
could be a reference to alleged insurer strategies for slow-walking
claims before denying them. Or they might just be a ruse to distract
from the suspect’s real motive. But
whatever drove the shooter, the killing unleashed a wave of anger and
vitriol against insurance companies across social media platforms. “No, I don't think violently killing CEOs is the answer,” Qasim Rashid wrote
on Bluesky. “I do think it's outrageous & disgusting that 70,000
Americans die preventable deaths annually because health insurance mega
corps prioritize profits over healthcare.” In a separate post on his
eponymous website, he said his son was denied coverage by an insurance company during an asthma attack in 2017. Health insurance companies don’t have many fans. A Gallup survey
last November asked Americans what they thought of the services
provided by health insurance companies. Sixty-eight percent said either
“only fair” or “poor.” Only 5% said it was “excellent.” A
separate Kaiser Family Foundation survey from
June 2023 found that 58% of insured adults have experienced a problem
using their coverage in the previous 12 months, and many of them were
unable to receive recommended care as a result. “This is what happens to society when people's basic needs are not met and they snap,” Robert Margolis, a filmmaker, wrote
on X, where “UnitedHealthcare CEO” was trending Thursday. By denying
claims, he wrote, the insurance industry “contributes to many early
deaths. The insurance CEO makes millions & bankrupts millions.” Some social media posts referred to a recent survey by ValuePenguin showing that UnitedHealthcare had particularly high claim denial rate. The
online discussion wasn’t limited to UnitedHealthcare. On Bluesky,
former Washington Post writer Taylor Lorenz commented on a policy change
from some units of Elevance Health that the American Society of
Anesthesiologists said would limit coverage of anesthesia if operations go longer than planned. “And people wonder why we want these executives dead,” she wrote. On Thursday, the Comptroller of Connecticut, one of the states that would have been affected, posted that the company had told him the anesthesia policy would no longer be going into effect. New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted that her state had also successfully pushed the insurer to reverse course “of this misguided policy.” An
Elevance spokesperson said it was never the policy to restrict
medically necessary anesthesia services. But due to “widespread
misinformation” about the change, the company decided not to proceed. — Robert Langreth |