Healthcare CEO shot in America

Perhaps we should start really listening to the US voices which continually tell us how dire the privatised, insurance model, healthcare is in the US. And stop supporting its apologists, like Nigel Farage who favours a similar model.

Who knows what motivated the shooting of the medical insurance company CEO, but given the extent of the misery caused by the US healthcare system and the US love of shooting each other I wouldn't be surprised if it was a very angry individual.

I saw that and like others "what was the motive" as it was clear it was planned, specific, targeted, and came to the same conclusion as the posters above. It is indeed a warning especially as they are about to make cuts in the most basic state health insurances (part of Musk's "2 trillion dollar" cuts plan).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnv3dnm64vlo
gives basics

I’m not sure we can assume discrepancies in the private healthcare sector were the motive behind this shooting.
Nor indeed that this should be the thread to discuss private healthcare- its pros and cons.
Isn’t it likelier than the murderer had a personal motive? Or that perhaps this was a hit ?
Who knows, we are not the NYPD.

It's a very clear picture of the assumed killer. It depends on whether anyone who can identify him comes forward. Possibly someone who has lost a loved one because they could not afford healthcare? I think the Police are thinking along those lines because of the message scratched into the bullet casings.

Nor indeed that this should be the thread to discuss private healthcare- its pros and cons.

I don't see why. It is specifically mentioned in the OP and is, quite frankly, a far more worthwhile and interesting topic to discuss than a random murder.

Anyway, the thread will go wherever it wants to go...

He can't be the only one who feels driven to this point. If guns weren't so readily available over there, it would be a safer place both from the risk of a random killing spree and for the CEOs of these unpopular companies. Not only is the CEO dead but the perpetrator faces a life on the run or in prison in addition to what trauma brought him to this point.

MaizieD

^Nor indeed that this should be the thread to discuss private healthcare- its pros and cons.^

I don't see why. It is specifically mentioned in the OP and is, quite frankly, a far more worthwhile and interesting topic to discuss than a random murder.

Anyway, the thread will go wherever it wants to go...

I take your point. But it is not specifically referred to in the thread title which purports to be about the shooting.
So if OP wanted to discuss private healthcare , why not start a thread about it?

Sarnia

It's a very clear picture of the assumed killer. It depends on whether anyone who can identify him comes forward. Possibly someone who has lost a loved one because they could not afford healthcare? I think the Police are thinking along those lines because of the message scratched into the bullet casings.

I love it that the public are behind him.
Residents are refusing to give up any cctv they have.

He can't be the only one who feels driven to this point

Making excuses for murder is uncivilised. Anger, rage, frustration are all understandable but they do not excuse murder.

Because I put the details in the post RosiesMaw. The title is just a header, all the details cannot be included in a short title. I’m sorry you disagree, but there is always the option to scroll on by. Besides, medical insurance in America is very different to private healthcare in this country, and this murder is being linked by NYP to healthcare provision in America, although at the moment, that appears to be speculation. If posters wish to discuss private healthcare in the UK, then that is where the thread goes, and entirely up to them. If they wish to wonder if the previous government was leading us towards private healthcare here in Britain, then again, that is where posters take the thread.

I have started a thread on an item in the news. Posters can discuss or not, as they wish, and the thread will go wherever it goes.

Baggs

*He can't be the only one who feels driven to this point*

Making excuses for murder is uncivilised. Anger, rage, frustration are all understandable but they do not excuse murder.

I know I could never murder anyone, but I do wonder if something specific pushed this man to do this.

I gather amateur internet sleuths are usually all over helping the police usually - but not one peep out of them this time. In their position - I'd be keeping studiously quiet too on this occasion and saying absolutely nothing. It sounds like the last straw was these private health insurance companies are laying down just how long they expect anaesthetic to be used for during an operation. I guess any medic going could tell them that there is always the unexpected to take account of - ie it must be noticeably frequent for an operation (and therefore the anaesthetic for it) to take longer than expected.

Cue for the choice for the patient would be either 1. have an unexpected extra bill on waking up or 2. be in pain for the latter part of an operation. Both are unacceptable and the killer has probably heard of this happening already.

It’s not just a case of being able to afford care - it’s also because of insurers finding reasons to refuse claims for treatment prescribed by doctors.

A more minor thing, but my sister in the US (paying at the time IIRC $800 a month for cover for herself and her daughter) cut a finger very badly.
‘Well, at least you’re insured,’ said I.
‘You’re joking!’ she said. ‘There was a $2000 excess!’

And there we are, taking a free trip to A&E for granted - even if it’s not what it once was.

those clues were bullet casing
inscribed with the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend.”
someone he loved was not treated
were where i live medical is never denied??????
duh, a hit
lots of tv shows and movies about this
rip brian

The DM reported

"UnitedHealthcare's disturbing track record of rejecting claims has come under the spotlight after the insurance giant's CEO was shot dead in what is believed to have been a targeted attack in the heart of Manhattan. "

"UnitedHealthcare was being probed by the Department of Justice for alleged antitrust violations, while its parent company, UnitedHealthcare Group (UHG), has come under fire from angry patients who claim the insurer refused to cover their care."

"UHG is the nation's largest health insurance conglomerate. The company expected to bring in revenues of $450 billion in 2025, with Thompson believed to earn a salary in the region of $10million a year.

In July, more than 150 protesters from the People's Action Institute campaign group gathered outside UHG's headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota, in what became a fiery demonstration

There is a lot more, if you dont hit the paywall

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14157577/unitedhealthcare-united-healthcare-rejecting-claims-ceo-brian-thompson-shot-protests.html

Many years ago before we were aware of how awful the US health system was/is I read a very disturbing book on this issue.
The story was that there were far too many people in hospitals with serious medical needs that were costing the insurers more than they wanted to pay out.
They hatched the idea of putting Drs with dodgy cv’s into the hospitals to kill these patients.
Would you hand on heart say no, that could never happen 🤔

I've got the book stashed away somewhere which details off what happened in at least some American hospitals during Covid and Lockdown. It lays bare just how much money these hospitals were being paid to "treat" patients the way the Government wanted them to!!!!! Including accounts of genuinely helpful medics having to help patients make their escape from these hospitals - to make sure they didnt wind up on ventilators and/or "treated" in other ways that would have killed them.

Its clear there was an organised "people movement" against this huge company, but of course it cannot ever excuse what happened.

I understand that medical bills are the primary cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.
If one of the executives earns 10 million dollars a year, it's not surprising, is it?
I have spoken before about a relative of a friend of mine whose funding " ran out" half way through his cancer treatment. The family were obliged to rally round for him to continue with the regime.

MaizieD

Perhaps we should start really listening to the US voices which continually tell us how dire the privatised, insurance model, healthcare is in the US. And stop supporting its apologists, like Nigel Farage who favours a similar model.

Who knows what motivated the shooting of the medical insurance company CEO, but given the extent of the misery caused by the US healthcare system and the US love of shooting each other I wouldn't be surprised if it was a very angry individual.

A"similar model", is used in the EU. Yes health care funded by Insurance with some Gov input. Wonder why the NHS model hasn't been taken up in any other country, well Cuba maybe.

By all accounts Cuban healthcare is excellent, Freya

There is nothing wrong with the NHS model.

Direct state investment sustains lots of private enterprise and contributes to growth in the economy by employing people who spend their wages in privately run businesses and by using private enterprise to source a everything that is needed in the NHS. It is suggested that it contributes to at least a their of GDP.

Despite their insurance contribution models many EU countries directly spend more on their health services than the UK does.

It is an absolute fallacy to believe that direct state spending on the NHS is a Bad Thing. It just means that less is going to private company shareholders...

Sorry . ...contributes to at least a third of GDP...

Chocolatelovinggran

I understand that medical bills are the primary cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.
If one of the executives earns 10 million dollars a year, it's not surprising, is it?
I have spoken before about a relative of a friend of mine whose funding " ran out" half way through his cancer treatment. The family were obliged to rally round for him to continue with the regime.

That would frighten me to death. Just thinking of it terrifies me.

I’d have thought (hoped) that when the proscribed money ‘ran out’ that some kind of State care would pick up the slack.

Would the oncologists truly just wash their hands of a sick patient undergoing treatment and say “sorry buddy”?