In the aftermath of the killing of HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, while Thompson’s colleagues mourned and politicians protested his murder, some online discussion showed little sympathy for Thompson or the industry he represented.
But social media has been abuzz with expressions of anger at many Americans’ dire experiences at the hands of health insurance companies and the outrage over the huge profits they generate.
That shock is also generated by the brutality of Thompson’s death. The killing appeared premeditated and calculated.
A gunman dressed in black waited for Thompson outside the midtown Manhattan Hilton, where he was to speak at a hostage meeting, approached him from behind with a handgun fitted with a silencer, shot and killed the executive, according to police.
Ebike runs in Central Park. A manhunt continues. The motive is unknown.
Andrew Witty, CEO of the parent company, UnitedHealth Group, called the attack “a terrible tragedy” in a message sent to the company’s employees and shared with the Guardian.
“Ours are with the family, especially his mother, his wife Paulie, his brother and two children, who lost their father today,” Salt said.
Amy Klobuchar, a US senator from Minnesota, described the massacre as a “horrific and shocking act of violence”.
But on the contrary, one commentator Rhoncus tincidunt eros post Instagram of Thompson’s death he wrote: “Can’t find a place to pay for my daughter’s $60,000 cancer treatment. Thoughts and prayers.”
Another said: “An innocent victim was killed in cold blood. Let your heart be safe for insurance.”
Oscillating between condemnation of violence and dark humor, famous memes and downright violent rhetoric, comments on social media have a profound and often unwelcome connection to Americans’ own health.
An expert on political violence told the Guardian that he sees this as part of a growing acceptance of violence in the US as a way to resolve civil disputes.
“Now, organizational violence is spreading into the commercial sector,” said Robert Pape, director of the University of Chicago’s project on security and threats. “That’s what I saw when I saw this.”
Although the cause of the killing is unknown, speculation has not stopped because the obvious candidate was Thompson’s work in corporate health insurance. That speculation is only supported shell casings found marked by the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” in the perpetual title.
“What I think we are really experiencing is that the country is being eroded against the norms,” said the Pope, expressing a little sympathy among the “political body” on social media as one example. “That is, basically, seeing violence as a more normal tool, or an acceptable tool, to solve those civil disputes that are not solved by direct means.”
Thompson’s killing also exposed the threats that health care executives face in a at the time of American violence – they are from insurers pharma to hospitals.
“It doesn’t seem paranoid to worry that someone who has had services has denied them that they believe they are important in being emotionally unstable and that they can do something,” Michael Sherman, former chief medical officer at Point32Health, told It standshealth industry publication. “The most likely targets would be the chief medical officer or the CEO.”
The online comments did not include details from Thompson, a 50-year-old licensed accountant who reportedly kept a low profile”. But industry targets are often seen as a despised fact of life in America. The comments are grimly “joking” with a sting of denial, delay, debt and impenetrable officialdom, everything ubiquitous and he blamed the experiences of the multitudes of Americans who are now or are secure through private company.
Another comment: “Does he have a history of shooting? Denied coverage. “
By and large, UnitedHealth Group is one of the largest companies in the world. The market of uncials from his measure $539bn it assumes household names such as Mastercard and ExxonMobil. The company is one of the largest private insurers in the nation, providing health coverage to more than 50 million Americans through employer insurance coverage to the elderly through Medicare Advantage.
Thompson ran the company’s insurance division as a long-time matchmaker who kept a low profile. There is also a huge footprint, around constant scrutiny.
Thompson himself was involved in the search for a middle-market company. Earlier this year, after the Justice Department began an investigation into antitrust practices, executives at United sold $101m in stock, including Thompson, who sold $15m, before the public became aware of the investigation, according to Crain’s New York Business. Salse was dragged into the fore testimony of the council above a * February’s cyber-attack because of the severe disruptions in the health care industry. UnitedHealthcare has been criticized as denying care vulnerable patients.
While security executives gathered at the top Fortune 500 companies on Wednesday, others in the public were surprised that Thompson made his unaccompanied trip to the annual conference.
Michael Julian, CEO of MPS Security & Protection, announced Axios “He’s shocked the guy doesn’t have individual protection,” as if the head of the American healthcare giant was an obvious target for the power-hungry.
“Whether or not technically this pigeonhole will accommodate political violence is obviously going to be a big question,” said Pope, whose recent study has shown a dramatic increase in violent threats from both Democrats and Republicans since around 2017. the first term of Trumpet.
“But the bigger picture of what happened in the country is also missing.”