Brian Thompson's killing sparks outrage over state of US healthcare [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Thu 5 Dec 2024 16.50 EST
Last modified on Thu 5 Dec 2024 20.03 EST


In the aftermath of the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, while Thompson’s colleagues grieve and politicians decry his murder, some online discussion has shown little sympathy for Thompson or the industry he represented. Instead, social media has been in engulfed in expressions of anger at many Americans’ dire experiences at the hands of health insurance companies and outrage at the large profits that they generate.

That belies the shock 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 scheduled to speak at an investor’s meeting, approached him from behind with a handgun fitted with a silencer, and shot and killed the executive, according to police. He fled on an ebike into Central Park. A manhunt is ongoing. The motive is unknown.

Andrew Witty, CEO of the parent company, UnitedHealth Group, called the attack “a terrible tragedy” in a message sent to company employees and shared with the Guardian. “Our hearts are with his family, especially his mom, his wife Paulie, his brother and his two boys, who lost a father today,” Witty said. Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic US Senator from Minnesota, described the killing as “a horrifying and shocking act of violence”.

But in contrast, one commenter on CNN’s Instagram post about Thompson’s death wrote: “Can’t find the room to care over my daughter’s $60,000 cancer treatment. Thoughts and prayers.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/05/unitedhealthcare-brian-thompson-killing-online-reaction