When healthcare leads to murder

Earlier this month, UnitedHealthCare CEO, Brian Thompson, was in NYC for a UnitedHealth Group investor's meeting. As he walked the streets of midtown Manhattan in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Dec. 4, he was fatally shot in the chest and left for dead on the cold cement street.

Social media pulled no punches and showed no mercy, sharing careless memes of the murder and heralding the alleged gunman, Luigi Mangione, as a hero.

Media outlets purported Mangione was found with a manifesto explaining his motive, but it was not as widely published as his smiling mug shot or the topless photos of him on vacation.

Investigative reporter, Ken Klippenstein, was recognized as the first to break the news of Mangione's alleged statement. The following is an edited version of what was published on Klippenstein's Substack page on Dec. 10.

"The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it -- I do apologize for any strife of traumas, but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. No, the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it. Obviously, the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently, I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty."

The Press does not condone murder or illegal activity of any sort, but it would be remiss in not analyzing how this killing has highlighted long-standing issues with the American healthcare system.

"What you have seen rising up is people's anger at a healthcare industry which denies people the healthcare that they so desperately need while they make billions and billions of dollars in profits," said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in an interview with Meet the Press on Sunday, Dec. 15.

In September, The Commonwealth Fund published, "Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System," which compared the healthcare of 10 progressive nations, including France, Canada and Switzerland. The U.S. ranked worst in access to care and health outcomes, second to last in equity and administrative efficiency, and last overall.

In the Netherlands, visits to primary care, maternity care and child health care providers are fully covered, according to the report. In 2022, Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker reported the average out-of-pocket cost of a vaginal delivery pregnancy at $14,768 and a cesarean delivery, $26,280.

A day after Thompson's murder and by coincidence, Sen. Gustavo Rivera attended the City & State's 2024 Legislators retreat to pass a bill demanding Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield cover anesthesia for the entire duration of a medical procedure.

"New Yorkers shouldn't have to worry about bills after surgery," Gustavo said in a press release.

The bill came after the health insurance giant retracted a post on their website and wrote, "It never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services," bringing the connotations of the word "necessary" under scrutiny.

The anesthesia policy on Medicare.gov reads, "After you meet the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for the anesthesia services you get from a doctor or certified registered nurse anesthetist."

Last year, the FDNY raised the price of an ambulance ride to upwards of $1,000. Imagine you get caught in a fire and need to be rushed to a hospital, only to find a hospital bill more expensive than your monthly rent.

The question is -- why is healthcare in the U.S. so expensive and why are companies allowed to deny care?

Some argue universal healthcare would solve many of these issues, but the matter is not as simple. But is that because we live in a capitalist society that profits off the working class?

The huge pharmaceutical companies claim research and development of new medications is expensive. Should the federal government subsidize the R&D?

Healthcare companies need to explain, in plain English, the method(s) they use to approve or deny care. Could there be an appeals process?

The day after Thompson's murder, Forbes released an article stating, "UnitedHealthCare denies more claims than other insurers."

While denials continue to increase, according to Experian Health, providers blame incorrect or incomplete information on claim forms.

If we do not come to a sensible resolution, people will only become more frustrated with the existing system and there could be more Luigi Mangiones in the future.