UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting unleashes social media contempt for insurance industry

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily NewsThe New York Daily News

The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has triggered a wave of rage-filled reactions on social media, most of them expressing contempt and dissatisfaction for the health insurance industry he represented.

Thompson was gunned down early Wednesday in Midtown Manhattan, in what police have called a “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.” He’d been walking to the Residences Hilton Club on W. 54th St. near Sixth Ave. to help set up an investor conference sponsored by the health insurance giant when a masked gunman opened fire, striking him in the back and the leg.

The CEO was expected to give a speech at the event, but he was instead pronounced dead less than a half-hour after the shooting.

In wake of the killing, Taylor Lorenz, once a journalist for the Washington Post, took to Bluesky to share a photo Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO Kim Keck. Her post also came after BCBS announced it would no longer cover anesthesia for the entirety of some surgeries.

“And people wonder why we want these executives dead,” Lorenz wrote.

She wasn’t the only social media user to express ire toward the health insurance industry following Thompson’s slaying. Scores of others took to social media to express their dismay and frustration while others seemed to delight in the death of the health insurance executive.

“When you shoot one man in the street it’s murder,” one person said on X. “When you kill thousands of people in hospitals by taking away their ability to get treatment you’re an entrepreneur.”

Several users on various TikTok videos about the shooting commented to say things such as “my condolences are out of network.”

Columbia School of Social Work professor Anthony Zenkus echoed the sentiment with a snarky post of his own.

“Today, we mourn the death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down….” he wrote. “Wait, I’m sorry – today we mourn the deaths of the 68,000 Americans who needlessly die each year so that insurance company execs like Brian Thompson can become multimillionaires.”

Another X user wrote: “I have United Healthcare, and I feel like shooting the CEO around this time every year when they raise the already ridiculous premiums and copays, so I’m not really surprised.”

Activist Tobita Chow added in his own post that “political and industry leaders might want to read the comments and think hard about them” alongside coverage of the shooting.

Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two based in Minnesota, joined the parent UnitedHealth Group in 2004, climbing the ranks until he became CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, according to his LinkedIn.

A manhunt for the gunman, who has not been identified, is still ongoing. Authorities on Thursday released new images of the smiling suspect and called on the public for assistance in the case.

“Got a push notification to exercise caution because the United Healthcare shooter is still at large,” comedian Samantha Ruddy wrote. “I personally do not feel like I am on the shooter’s radar because I am not the CEO of a highly divisive multi billion dollar insurance company.”

Anyone with information regarding the shooter’s whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.