To the Editor;
While police continue their search for Brian Thompson’s murderer, America’s C-suite scrambles to erase corporate profiles and seek out private protection companies, reading public sentiment and finding that – lo and behold – Americans are tired of these companies and their millionaire executives ripping them off.
It is possible this killer left his motive scrawled on the bullets he used to kill his target and although I’m sure Thompson’s wife and children loved him I also believe United Healthcare has also clearly stated their motives when denying the medical claims of countless thousands of their customers.
Insurance companies are the single biggest barrier to attaining quality health care in our country. The ensuing lack of empathy for Thompson, and overall anger toward the healthcare system, which surfaced after his murder is telling. Americans’ distrust of these companies and frustration over increasingly high costs for monthly premiums, co-pays, and access to specialists, as well as a growing list of doctor visits and tests that are not covered by insurance, may have prompted at least one person to lash out.
Most other countries have found a way to provide quality health care to their people without driving them into bankruptcy. Only America lags behind. It is a possibility that someone denied healthcare for themselves or family member took action against one of the people profiting from that model with one of the few tools Americans have readily available to them today – a gun.
Sincerely,
Michelle Clarke/Concord
United is the worst of many greedy companies willing to trade our lives for more money.
National health care systems in other countries use waiting lists to delay care, or they deny expensive procedures based on a cost/benefit formula. The result is quite similar, and the reason is much the same: limited funding requires some method of rationing.
We all would like unrationed state of the art health care at a reasonable fixed cost, but no country has been able to square that circle.
Governments and insurance companies are at fault for misleading promises to deliver the impossible.
Is our system better? I don’t know. I had an appointment with a specialist at UCSF and it was a nine month wait.
Maybe the only thing the other countries do better is not bankrupting people who do not have insurance or have inadequate insurance. Some people’s debt will never be paid off in their lifetime.
Is that better than waiting for “free care”? As you say, there are no easy solutions.
That’s a red herring. A national healthcare system is just one type of universal healthcare approach and is most often associated with the UK system. There are numerous others, including single payer and most universal programs still allow for private insurance for “premium” service and coverage.
Rationed healthcare is not inevitable in most countries that offer universal coverage.
I strongly disagree with the author of the letter. We need health insurance companies to make the difficult decisions to deny procedures and coverage. With today’s medical technology we have the ability to maintain vegetables forever, there is a cost to human life and the cost is not unlimited. Do I sound cold hearted? I have Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer, one of the most deadly cancers, going on two years now, the cost is approximately $150,000 per year. How many meals for the hungry would that buy, or rent for the homeless?
Firestone 11R
That is a rough one, Jeff. Hang in there.
Michelle,
That was very well written and I couldn’t agree with you more.
Ditto
Very interesting case with a lot of angles to it.
Preach! Obviously gunning people down in the street is a terrible idea, but United, Anthem, et al kill people every single day and call it “the cost of doing business.” It’s well past time that we implemented Medicare for all. It’s sitting right there, waiting for us to join the rest of the modern world. Enough is enough.
Agree
I have a feeling we’ll know more about this very soon.
Apparently Anthem got the message.
Regardless of insurance companies, there is no excuse for murder. I strongly disagree with the author as well.
I agree there’s no excuse for murder – but wonder why you draw the line at one man and not include the thousands who die because of decisions he makes and is apparently so handsomely compensated
Don’t Fear The Reaper
Firestone 11R
Insurance is so expensive and limited because certain politicians won’t agree to limits on malpractice suits. Drug companies spend billions developing drugs and aren’t allowed to make a profit.
Research has shown that common assertion to be unsupported by the data. One study is here https://www.nber.org/bah/2004number3/do-medical-malpractice-costs-affect-delivery-health-care but a simple web search shows other studies have found about the same.
I think the authors point of view is sad. She is frustrated with insurance companies(like most of us) but makes no mention of the role of government or healthcare providers in the convoluted process. Then frames this murder hypothetically as a “millionaire executive” being unfortunately killed by a ‘family member who took action’. This sentiment is representative of the degradation of our online culture. Would she write this letter if she knew or had met the victim, his wife or children?
I want to be part of a society where we show empathy, bring a murderer to justice and solve problems in our healthcare system separately through advocacy and legislation. The Golden Rule, do onto others as you would have them do to you, comes to mind when commenting on a man who was shot in the back and killed on his way to work.
Absolutely well said.
Agreed, too many of us some have become numb to societal norms living life through a keyboard versus in our communities.
The sentiment, in part, is due to the failure of our justice system. Once you are failed by a court system where justice is bought and sold there is no recourse. There is no closure. You are sentenced to live the rest of your life under a false narrative. Have you ANY idea what that’s like? Quite clearly you don’t. Try exercising some empathy and understanding of what denied justice looks and feels like. It’s like living in a void between what could have been and what should have been. Your mind reliving court over and over again trying to figure out where it all went wrong or what you could have done differently. Sadly, it all boils down to you being the little guy. They will break you financially, emotionally and spiritually and it’s all the cost for playing. It’s a game to them and you’re a pawn. Why is this asshole making 10 million a year? He’s a dirtbag doing dirtbag things. Don’t expect anyone in the real world to care or mourn his death.
Now that we know this was a highly educated young man from a wealthy Baltimore family do you think he “denied justice” or failed by the court system somewhere in his life? Or does that not suit your warped narrative of why murder is acceptable?
With the exception of the murder itself, the saddest thing is he had in-house security, and security wasn’t with him. Why not?
85% of insurance claims are approved. Getting denied is part of life. We’re denied jobs, promotions, raises, loans, dates, etc. Why should insurance claims be denial free? It would be nice but it’s not reality.
Yes, it’s so sad. Security could have solved the ONE problem needing fixing in this tragedy according to you.
Well according to a large portion of society (15% according to you) there are SEVERAL ways in which this “tragedy” could have been avoided.
First of all, who said “denial free”? You did. Where did you come up with this?
Insinuating a perfect world is achieved through impossible circumstances.
So you’re presuming the 15% is victimless.
There’s a dead body of a CEO sitting in a morgue to prove you otherwise. Social norms haven’t disintegrated – the justice system has and there’s a dead body sitting in a morgue to prove it. Normal society flips sometimes.
You compare an insurance claim denial to not getting a job or a date?
Lol. Bliss.
People in the “real world” do care and mourn his death. Heartless online trolls don’t. Thank God the SOB is in custody. He’s a 26 year old Ivy League grad with an undergraduate and graduate degree in computer science. A high school valedictorian from a private prep school. Maybe a rich kid.
Just because an insurance company denies a claim doesn’t mean you can’t get medical service. If I had an illness that wasn’t covered by my insurance I’d get the surgery, procedure, etc. done and the hell with the bill.