The Killing of Brian Thompson
We do not yet know the motive for the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. But it would not surprise me if the killer stalked Thompson because UnitedHealthcare had denied medical coverage, or forced a family or an individual into bankruptcy, after the company failed to cover a serious illness. Insurers reject about 1 in 7 claims for treatment, often by deciding the treatment is not “medically necessary.”
Among 10 high-income nations, the United States spends the most on health care but has the worst health outcomes. Americans die four years earlier than their counterparts in other industrialized nations.
There are more than 200 million Americans who rely on private health insurance, but once they become seriously ill, they are often tossed aside, left with crippling medical bills and unable to receive adequate treatment. Exorbitant medical bills account for about 40 percent of bankruptcies. Many of those driven into bankruptcy because of medical bills had medical insurance.
The revenue of six largest insurers -- Anthem, Centene, Cigna, AVS/Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealth -- have more than quadrupled from 2010 to $1.1 trillion. Combined revenues of the 3 biggest -- United, CVS/Aetna and Cigna -- have quintupled.
These corporations, in moral terms, are legally permitted to hold sick children hostage while their parents bankrupt themselves to save their sons or daughters. That many die, at the very least premature deaths, because of these policies is indisputable.
Nothing absolves the killer of Thompson, but nothing absolves those who run for-profit health care corporations that embrace a business model that destroys and terminates lives in the name of profit.
"But it would not surprise me if the killer stalked Thompson because UnitedHealthcare had denied medical coverage, or forced a family or an individual into bankruptcy, after the company failed to cover a serious illness." I agree ~ I fought with a health insurance company for 9 months to obtain treatment that my daughter required and was caught in a Catch-22 loop and denied coverage (no need to go into detail on that). Suffice it to say, I drove to the regional headquarters of that particular insurer one morning and camped in the lobby with my documentation until someone with the authority to reverse their denial of coverage would speak to me.
I was told repeatedly that the only person who could help me was unavailable for the rest of the day, and they were unsure of his schedule for the rest of the week. I said no problem, I'll wait all day if necessary. Around 4 PM I was called into a conference room and the manager of that office agreed to hear me out. After 30 minutes he left the room to discuss my case with "the decision maker." After another 30 minutes he returned and said, they had reversed their denial and that my daughter could receive her treatment. And sure enough, they followed through as promised.
But despite my joy at obtaining coverage, I could not help but be angry with the realization that not everyone in similar circumstances is as stubborn and motivated as me, lives in a city with a regional office of their health insurance carrier, or could take an entire day off to press the issue in person at said office. Our country's for-profit healthcare system is a crime against humanity. That we permit our government to perpetuate this travesty is shameful.
As corporate execs keep sucking the life out of the rest of us and the planet, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more incidents in the future. A universal norm of compassion & sharing could change the lives of everyone on the planet for the best. That’s how we all started out.