On Dec. 4, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in New York City. Soon after, United Healthcare posted a tribute on their Facebook page, but the reaction was probably not what they expected.
Instead of condolences, the post received over 90,000 laughing reactions in only 48 hours before the comments were limited. But this Facebook post was only the beginning of the online response to the murder.
In the days after Thompson’s assassination, every single social media platform was being flooded with people giving their opinions on what happened, and the reactions varied from the calling for more CEOs to be murdered to people simply not caring or just pointing out the irony.
Another aspect of the response online that was surprising was that it was coming from all Americans — Republicans and Democrats, young and old, men and women. Famous conservative YouTubers, such as Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh, have even faced criticism from their own followers after they condemned the murder.
Many comments on their videos come from lifelong Republicans and Trump supporters who feel deep discontent with health insurance in the United States. In a time when Americans are divided about pretty much everything, it has been crazy to see the country coming together in their shared hatred of the health insurance industry.
But while the levels of disdain for Thompson and UnitedHealthcare are mixed, there is basically no sympathy or condolences posted online, so I became curious as to why. Why is UnitedHealthcare universally hated, and is the response warranted?
In short, UnitedHealthcare puts profit over people’s lives.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest private health insurance company in the United States, and they also have the highest rate of denials of their insured’s claims at around 33 percent. That means that if you’re insured by UnitedHealthcare and file a claim, there is more than a one in four chance they will deny it.
Private healthcare insurance companies often utilize the “Delay, Deny, Defend” tactic to make more money from their customers’ suffering, and based on the statistics, UnitedHealthcare appears to do this best.
Brain Thompson’s killer etched “Deny, Defend, Depose” on the bullets that ultimately killed the CEO. Seeing the 33 percent denial rate versus actually hearing the stories of those affected is different, and social media has allowed people to share their heartbreaking experiences with United Healthcare.
After hearing some, it’s not hard to at least see why there’s so little sympathy online.
This viral TikTok, with over 1.2M likes and 6.3M views, encapsulates how many Americans are completely disillusioned with their health insurance and how much people have suffered just so that these companies make a bigger profit.
Comments tell stories of people rationing insulin and later dying, being denied wheelchairs and prosthetics for being “cosmetic,” refusing to pay for oxygen because it was not “medically necessary,” and cancer patients being denied potentially life-saving care.
Brain Thompson’s killer has blood on his hands, but let’s not pretend UnitedHealthcare doesn’t as well. All we can hope for is change in the health insurance industry, and if people keep telling their stories, I feel confident this can happen.
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