For years, Newnan physician Dr. Cecil Bennett has been frustrated by dealing with his patients’ insurance providers. The process of getting a medication to a patient or scheduling a procedure has become increasingly complicated as providers require a second or third step after he prescribes them.
When they’re denied outright, Bennett has to call the company directly and explain why he believes it’s the most appropriate diagnostic tool for his patients. Most times, he’s not speaking directly with a doctor.
These issues have only gotten worse over time, Bennett said, especially as artificial intelligence comes into play, allowing insurance companies to issue denials without a human ever reviewing requests for coverage. His patients are fed up, too.
The targeted and fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk early Wednesday morning has sparked a storm of social-media-fueled rage against health insurers, bringing to light Americans’ increasing anger over a deeply flawed American health care system.
The shooter’s motive remains unclear. But two law enforcement officials have told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity that the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were emblazoned on the ammunition. The words echo a phrase used by insurance industry critics, “Delay, Deny, Defend,” which is also the title of a 2010 book by Jay Feinman that delves into how insurers handle claims: Delay the claim as long as possible; deny the claim; and if a lawsuit is filed, defend the claim.
On social media, some are sharing deeply painful experiences with an industry that often denies coverage for medical claims. Many are rallying around the shooter, even celebrating or making light of Thompson’s death. Others, while condemning the violence, are plainly apathetic.
“Thoughts and deductibles to the family,” read one comment on TikTok. “Unfortunately my condolences are out-of-network.”
“Today, we mourn the death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down…. 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,” tweeted Columbia School of Social Work professor Anthony Zenkus.
The masked man who fatally shot Thompson in Manhattan remains at large. The shooter waited outside a hotel where UnitedHealthcare was hosting a conference in Manhattan early Wednesday, walked up behind Thompson and began firing.
Thompson was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare in the insurance wing of parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc., a role he has held since 2021. Having worked at the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company for two decades, he was one of the company’s highest-paid executives, with a $10.2 million annual compensation package. Thompson kept a low profile, with UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s CEO Andrew Witty taking on a more public-facing role that included testifying before Congress.
Thompson’s compensation is a point of contention among social media posters, with many drawing attention to the burden of health care costs. After groceries, transportation and rent, health care costs are the No. 1 cost of concern to families in this country, according to a poll from KFF Health News.
Also according to a KFF poll from earlier this year, a quarter of U.S. adults say they’ve skipped or postponed getting the care they need simply because of the cost. In fact, health care related expenses are the No. 1 cause of bankruptcy in this country, said Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF, during an interview Friday on “CBS Mornings.”
Bennett was shocked to hear news of the shooting. Killing an executive doesn’t solve systemic issues that persist in the health care industry, he said.
“People get frustrated. People get fed up. Of course, not to the point of committing murder, but it is a daily, ongoing issue in every single medical office in this country, regardless of specialty,” Bennett said, referring to the difficulties of dealing with providers.
Much of patients’ and physicians’ frustrations with insurance providers occur against the backdrop of increasing profits for these companies. Bennett calls the pursuit of making the health care industry a profit-motivated system a conflict of interest.
“We can’t have it both ways,” Bennett said. “We can’t complain about the insurance companies and their system, when at the same time, those same companies are on the New York Stock Exchange and we’re investing them to be profitable.”
Gainesville doctor and former President of the Medical Association of Georgia Dr. Andrew Reisman sees other factors at play in fueling the brutal reaction to the killing.
”I think the divisive political climate of the last 15 years and the ability of people to broadcast a partially anonymous opinion on social media has exacerbated hateful opinions in many circumstances,” he said in a text. “I also am surprised that so many people see these public figures as one dimensional and attribute their whole opinion of their character to one aspect of their life, whether it be their career, religion or political affiliation.”
Stephan Meier, the chair of the management division at Columbia Business School, told The New York Times the targeted attack could send shock waves through the health insurance industry.
“The insurance industry is not the most loved, to put it mildly,” Meier told the Times. “If you’re a C-suite executive of another insurance company, I would be thinking, ‘What’s this mean for me? Am I next?’”
Does Bennett think the fatal shooting will spark change in the industry?
“As in any tragic story, in two weeks, we won’t be talking about it,” Bennett said. “It’s tragic, we’ll think about it, then rolls around Christmas and everyone’s off to their regular lives. I don’t think it’ll make a difference whatsoever.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
