The headquarters of UnitedHealthcare, America’s largest health insurer, in Minnetonka, Minnesota. His boss, Brian Thompson, was shot dead in New York on December 4, 2024.
Getty Images via AFP
Jokes, ironic, even hateful comments: the death of a big boss in the health insurance sector in the United States, killed by gunfire, provoked a surge of acerbic publications on social networks, proof of deep anger at with regard to a lucrative system, accused of enriching itself at the expense of patients.
Brian Thompson, boss of UnitedHealthcare, the country’s leading health insurer, was shot dead at dawn on Wednesday by a gunman in the center of Manhattan, in the heart of the world financial capital. The hunt for the suspect continued Friday.
“I submitted a request for support for my condolences but it was refused, too sad,” asserts, full of irony, an Internet user on TikTok. “Thoughts and prayers for all the patients who have been refused care,” comments another.
“My thoughts and prayers are not included in my health coverage”: this comment, recurrent on the networks since the tragedy, echoes a frequent practice of American health insurance companies to refuse coverage for a medical procedure.
The publication on Facebook of condolences from the United Health group – the parent company of UnitedHealthcare – provoked a strong reaction from Internet users, the vast majority of reactions being “laughing” Emojis. On Friday, it was no longer possible to know their precise number.
Lack of empathy
This lack of empathy or even this rage illustrates the population’s disavowal of the private health insurance sector in general, UnitedHealthcare in particular.
UnitedHealthcare covers about 50 million people in the United States and made $16.4 billion in profits in 2023. The same year, the compensation of its boss, Brian Thompson, was more than $10 million.
“All the jokes, all the sarcasm about the killing, it’s a defense mechanism for a population who feels powerless in the face of our health system,” says, in a TikTok video, the ophthalmologist and comedian “Dr Glaucomflecken”, real name William Flanary, known for his satirical medical videos.
The “Obamacare” law, adopted more than ten years ago, made it possible to cover tens of millions of Americans without health insurance. But the cost of health care and disparities in care remain high in the United States for a good considered universal in other countries.
According to government figures, American residents spent $1.29 trillion on private health insurance in 2022.
A sector with controversial practices
In the United States, 216.5 million residents were covered by private health insurance in 2023 (out of more than 330 million residents). This lucrative sector also manages public insurance Medicare and Medicaid, under government mandate.
While police have so far not determined the motive behind the murder of the 50-year-old UnitedHealthcare boss, speculation is rife as to the possibility that the suspect, still at large, wanted revenge for a dispute with this insurance.
According to the “New York Times”, the words “delay” and “deny” (refuse) were found written on shell casings at the scene of the tragedy, recalling controversial practices in the sector.
ValuePenguin, an analyst group, estimates that UnitedHealthcare denies about a third of its policyholders’ medical claims, the highest rate of any insurance company and double the industry average.
(AFP)
