The Latest: Gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO still at large

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton in Midtown, blocks from tourist draws like Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art.

The gunman is still at large and a manhunt is underway.

Here's the latest:

How do Americans feel about insurers?

In the U.S. health care system, patients get coverage through a mix of private insurers such as UnitedHealthcare and government-funded programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. That can prove particularly frustrating for doctors and patients because coverage often varies by insurer.

Polls reflect those frustrations with the U.S. health care system in general and insurance companies in particular.

About two-thirds of Americans said health insurance companies deserve “a lot of blame” for high health care costs, according to a KFF poll conducted in February.

Thompson’s wife said her husband had received precious threats

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She didn’t have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.

Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.

Words on ammo in CEO shooting echo common phrase on insurer tactics: Delay, deny, defend

A message left at the scene of an insurance executive’s fatal shooting — “deny,” “defend” and “depose” — echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.

The three words were emblazoned on the ammunition a masked gunman used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday. They’re similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend” — the way some attorneys describe how insurers deny services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book that was highly critical of the industry.

Police haven’t officially commented on the wording or any connection between them and the common phrase. But Thompson’s shooting and the messages on the ammunition have sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting a deepening frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care.

▶ Read more about the messaging left behind by the shooter

New photos released by the NYPD

The New York Police Department released photos Thursday morning, asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the individual pictured. Police say the person is wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

UnitedHealthcare’s history of claim denials

A Senate panel has been investigating how frequently three major insurers, including UnitedHealthcare, deny care to patients who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. It has also investigated the use of artificial intelligence in deny those claims.

Medicare Advantage is the private version of Medicare, which provides health insurance to millions of older Americans.

The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee’s report released earlier this year found that as UnitedHealthcare relied more on its automated system to review claims denials increased for post-acute treatment, which includes nursing home or rehabilitation care. The insurer denied nearly a quarter of claims, a rate that doubled over just a two-year period from 2020 to 2022.

What’s known about the suspected shooter?

Joseph Kenny, the NYPD chief of detectives, says the shooter wore a black face mask, black-and-white sneakers and a distinctive gray backpack.

He arrived outside the hotel about five minutes before UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson did, then waited and ignored other pedestrians before he approached Thompson from behind.

After the assailant began to fire, his 9 mm pistol jammed but he quickly fixed it and kept firing, Kenny said, another sign of the shooter’s professionalism.

“From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” Kenny said.

Hunt for the shooting suspect brought New York police to at least two hostels Thursday morning

The hostels were on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and police were following a tip that the suspect may have stayed at one of the residences, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing search.

According to an employee of Kama Central Park, two detectives arrived at the hostel at 7 a.m. Thursday with a photo of the shooter and asked staff if they recognized the man. They did not, the employee said, and the detectives left soon after. An employee at the nearby HI New York City hostel also confirmed that police had visited the location Thursday, but declined to provide further information.

— Jake Offenhartz

New York Mayor Adams says he’s ‘never seen a silencer before’

New York Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday the shooter used a silencer — something he’d never encountered in his 22 years as a police officer.

“In all of my years in law enforcement I have never seen a silencer before,” Adams, a retired NYPD captain, said in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And so that was really something that was shocking to us all.”

Deny,’ ‘defend’ and ‘depose’: Ammunition used in CEO’s killing had writing on it, AP source says

The masked gunman used ammunition emblazoned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” a law enforcement official said Thursday. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The words on the ammunition may have been a reference to strategies insurance companies use to try to avoid paying claims.

Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the hotel, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny had said earlier.

— Mike Balsamo, Jake Offenhartz and Michael R. Sisak

Just getting up to speed? Start here

The chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest insurers, was killed Wednesday in midtown Manhattan in what police described as a targeted attack by a shooter outside a hotel where the company was holding a conference.

▶ Read more about the key things to know about the fatal attack