Luigi Mangione, the hero? The disturbing reaction to health care CEO’s killing

For days, social media has been peppered with praise for a suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, with some calling the still unnamed shooter “a national hero.”

“On TikTok, people performed ballads dedicated to whomever the shooter was. On Bluesky, they marveled over his ebike escape and the backpack found in Central Park full of Monopoly money that allegedly belonged to him,” Wired reports. “There was a look-alike contest held in New York City. On Spotify, there were dedicated playlists. Fanfic sprang up on Archive of Our Own.”

By Tuesday morning, just hours after prosecutors filed murder charges against former Towson resident and Gilman School valedictorian Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, thousands of Baltimore commuters were greeted along southbound Interstate 83 by a handmade banner that protested U.S. health care policy.

The sign, which hung from an overpass just south of Cold Spring Lane, read, “Deny Defend Depose” — words found on the ammunition used to gun down Thompson last week — followed by “Health Care 4 All.”

It’s part of the bitter messaging that’s been bubbling up amid debate about health care in America since the CEO attack that captured the country’s attention.

“Awful news about that murder but at least it’s fueling a discourse on social media that will surely change a lot of minds on health care policy,” one post on X read.

The banner along the Jones Falls Expressway makes reference to a strategy by large insurance companies to avoid paying claims. It also was similar to the title of a 2010 book critical of the health insurance industry, “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why insurance companies don’t pay claims, and what you can do about it.”

How Luigi Mangione became a far-left folk hero

Since Mangione was arrested at an Altoona, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s Monday morning, frustration with the health insurance industry has seeped out on social media and elsewhere in society. And so has backing for Mangione.

On platforms such as X, Instagram, TikTok and Reddit, #freeLuigiMangione gained traction on Tuesday. Some comments have been alarming in their apparent justification of the killing.

“Thoughts and prayers to the family of billionaire guy who got rich off of hardworking Americans’ insurance premiums and then signed their death warrants instead of giving them the peace of mind they paid for,” one post read.

Another blamed the victim for murdering “millions of people nationwide.”

As UnitedHealthcare CEO, Thompson was the face of the nation’s fourth-largest health insurance company by revenue in 2024.

Thompson was repeatedly named and pictured on television after a Senate report released in October found that Medicare Advantage patients’ requests were denied frequently by United. The company said the report was flawed.

“The] report sharply criticizes the country’s three largest Medicare Advantage insurers — UnitedHealthcare, Humana and CVS — for allegedly limiting access to post-acute care to maximize profits,” Healthcare Dive reported at the time.

“The insurers leveraged algorithmic tools to sharply increase claims denials for MA beneficiaries between 2019 and 2022, according to the report published … by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations,” the outlet said. “They most often denied coverage to patients in nursing homes, inpatient rehab hospitals and long-term hospitals, the report found.”

Thompson also made headlines in May when he was sued for alleged fraud and illegal insider trading by the Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund, who claimed Thompson, former CEO Andrew Witty and Executive Chairman Stephen Hemsley colluded to hide a US Justice Department antitrust investigation and pump up its stock price ahead of a merger with Change Healthcare.

Thompson had vigorously denied any involvement in that activity, but his estranged wife, Paulette Thompson, made a statement to media last week that he had mentioned receiving threats.

Pennsylvania police begin to receive backlash

Later on Tuesday, Altoona police said they were investigating threats made against the department and local citizens who were involved in Mangione’s arrest, according to a report by WTAJ.

“This is clearly a very polarized case,” Derek Swope, deputy chief of the Altoona Police Department, said. “We have received some threats against our officers and building here. We’ve started investigating some threats here against some citizens in our community.”

Some  reportedly tried to raise money for Mangione’s defense on GoFundMe, but the platform removed such attempts.

“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes,” a GoFundMe spokesperson said in an email. “The fundraisers have been removed from our platform and all donors have been refunded.”

Mario Macis, a professor of economics at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and core faculty at the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative, said research he has worked on this year and last shows a deep mistrust of private health insurers and pharmaceutical companies. Trust of doctors, nurses and even hospitals is higher, he said.

Causing the mistrust is a perception that insurance companies are motivated not by the best interests of their patients but by the need to make money, leading them to deny claims, Macis said.

“It’s a tragedy, what happened, and important to understand the context,”  he said.

Insurers deny about 10% to 20% of claims each year, he said, “but if you are one of those families who have a medical claim denied, it can mean financial ruin. We should take this very seriously.

“Even before this shocking incident that happened, there has been a need for more transparency on the part of insurance companies, how they process claims and what the rules are for denying claims,” Macis said.

Critics of American health care companies counter that UnitedHealthcare is one of the 10 largest companies in the world, treating 50 million people and with a revenue of $281 billion last year and a market capitalization of around $520 billion. Expecting corporate executives to be prepared to confront the public became a popular theme on social media Monday and Tuesday, with many users calling Mangione a “hero.”

What to do if you are denied insurance coverage

But Maryland residents should not feel that they’ve hit a dead end when struggling with insurance and claim problems, said Vincent DeMarco, president of Maryland Health Care For All. Under state law, a claim can not be denied because of cost but can be denied if found not medically necessary. Under a change passed during the last legislative session, carriers must justify denials and provide doctors’ justification.

And two state agencies will go to bat for health insurance consumers, including the Insurance Division, led by the acting insurance commissioner, and the Health Education Advocacy Unit in the Maryland Attorney General’s office.

“Certainly there’s always been frustration when health claims are denied,” DeMarco said. “And we hear that loud and clear. But a lot of Marylanders don’t know that these resources are there.”

Efforts are being made to reduce the price of high-cost prescription drugs as well, he said.

“The fact is that health care costs are high, and one reason is because of exorbitantly high prescription drug costs,” he said.

A 2019 law sought to make high-cost drugs more affordable in state and local government plans. DeMarco said Health Care for All is pushing to expand that affordability to the larger market in the upcoming session.

Sun reporter Todd Karpovich contributed to this story. Have a news tip? Contact Lorraine Mirabella at [email protected], (410) 332-6672 and @lmirabella on X, or Riley Gutiérrez McDermid at [email protected] and (443) 571-6987.

©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.