Scott Douglas Jacobsen: A few days ago, Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealth Group (the parent company of UnitedHealthcare), was fatally shot in New York City. Reports suggest the shooter took a bus to the city and waited for 10 days, apparently targeting Thompson, who was there to speak at an investors’ conference. 

Rick Rosner: UnitedHealth Group has been criticized for its practices, including allegations of claim denials and monopolistic behaviour.

UnitedHealth Group denies 32% of insurance claims—twice the industry average of 16%. This raises concerns for policyholders: Will they receive chemotherapy? Maybe not. Will they have access to anesthetics? Maybe not.

The company is under investigation for allegations of fraud and monopolistic practices. UnitedHealth Group has been acquiring hospitals, medical practices, and other healthcare businesses in pursuit of profit. For instance, they have integrated medical facilities and services into their portfolio. One area of controversy involves medical coding, where doctors classify patient diagnoses and treatments. Insurance companies like UnitedHealth Group receive federal reimbursements based on these classifications for patients enrolled in government programs like Medicare Advantage.

Allegedly, UnitedHealth Group—and possibly other insurers—has engaged in “upcoding,” exaggerating the severity of patients’ conditions to increase government reimbursement. The company now influences the healthcare of approximately 107 million Americans. Additionally, some executives are under investigation for insider trading, which adds to concerns about a potentially toxic corporate culture.

Despite these criticisms, an article in the New York Post described Thompson as a kind individual based on quotes from people who knew him. However, it’s worth noting that the Post is a Murdoch-owned, right-leaning publication, which might affect its portrayal. Thompson has been CEO of UnitedHealth Group since 2021, and many of the company’s controversial practices likely predated his leadership. Regardless, murder is never justified. His tragic death raises larger questions about the state of the U.S. healthcare system.

This incident also stirs broader reflections. For example, when school shootings occur—like the one earlier today at a Christian school where no deaths were reported but a few children were critically injured—it’s heartbreaking to see children targeted in such senseless violence. It prompts the uncomfortable thought: If harm must occur, why target children? Such a line of thought feels morally wrong, but it highlights the frustration with the randomness of violent acts.

As for Thompson, he didn’t deserve this fate—no one does. Whether this incident will draw attention to systemic issues in the U.S. healthcare system remains to be seen. Authorities believe the suspect has fled the city. Based on the way the crime was carried out, the shooter does not appear to be a professional hitman. The investigation is ongoing, and time will tell how the situation unfolds.

That he shot him, I think, in the back and then in the calf and, I don’t know, maybe one other place. But a professional hitman would have run up on him and finished the job with a shot to the head, and this guy did not do that. But he seemed to have planned his escape very well. And, right, I guess riding a Rent-A-Bike into Central Park, I don’t know, maybe changing clothes. I don’t know.

But the cops say he has left town. I don’t know how they know that. But anyway, if they ever catch the guy, will it turn out that he or a family member had UnitedHealth for their healthcare coverage and that they were denied coverage, leading to a terrible outcome for a relative? Thanks to UnitedHealth’s policies, you can go online and read about quite a few terrible outcomes.

I wonder if this will spotlight them, and even if it does, I wonder if the government will do anything about it.

Maybe? The government in the U.S. now will be controlled by the Republicans, and they tend to be pro-corporate. Will there be enough outcry for them to hold hearings? Will they haul, you know, healthcare execs in front of hearings? They’ve already done that at some point with little effect.

But as we’ll discuss for the next two years, the House is nearly tied. There will be about 215 Democrats and about 217 Republicans. So, the Republicans can barely lose a single member for a party-line vote and still win the vote. So, will this stop them from doing anything for two years? It has stopped them from being nearly equally divided as the coming House for the past two years.

They got nothing done. They’ve been close to the least effective House in history. So I don’t know. Will this lead to copycat crimes? Given the number of gun crimes we have in America, where 100 people die from guns a day, on average, in the U.S.—half of them being suicides—but still, that’s 18,000 non-suicide gun deaths a year in the U.S. So, it’s not unlikely that you know, some copycat crimes may happen.

All the reporters, other ex-healthcare executives, and other CEOs have expressed surprise that this guy was out in public without bodyguards. So, even if this doesn’t lead to copycat crimes, it will give high-ranking execs more security.

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Rick Rosner, American Comedy Writer, www.rickrosner.org

Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Independent Journalist, www.in-sightpublishing.com

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