The New York Police Department is still on the hunt for the mysterious gunman who killed UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel early Wednesday morning.
The late health insurance executive's death sparked a heated debate over the widespread and public celebration that followed it — the bleak legacy of a man in charge of a company that's made the lives of countless Americans miserable, often during the darkest parts of their lives.
Even long before his murder earlier this week, Thompson's online presence drew the ire of those who either were denied coverage or watched a loved one struggle to pay skyrocketing bills for their treatment — a common refrain in a notoriously greedy and deficient health insurance system.
As spotted by reporter Ken Klippenstein, replies to Thompson's final LinkedIn posts before his death, over a year ago, are filled with people detailing their dreadful experiences with UnitedHealth — a real "horror show," as Klippenstein described it.
In a reply to the 2023 post, in which Thompson claimed that "we work every day to find ways to make healthcare more affordable, including reducing the cost of life-saving prescription drugs," entrepreneur Andrea Huspeni shot back, accusing UnitedHealth of "failing my mother by not providing her the basic care to get better and back her life."
"You are doing a great job cutting your costs," another commenter wrote. "Not having a single anesthesiologist in network in the entire state of Montana is a great policy to save you money."
"United Healthcare terminated my 86-year-old mother's Medicare Advantage plan with no notice on 7-31-22," another user commented on a previous 2022 post by Thompson. "I learned of it when her pharmacy called me."
"I’ve had UHC for the last several years, I have stage 4 metastatic lung cancer," another user wrote. "We’ve just left UHC because of all the denials for my meds. Every month there is a different reason for the denial."
UnitedHealth has a long history of finding creative new ways to deny healthcare coverage. The company went as far as to deploy an AI algorithm to deny and override claims to elderly patients that had been approved by their doctors — efforts that ultimately led to a lawsuit last year.
In short, it's no wonder many Americans who were wronged by UnitedHealth looked to vent their frustrations on Thompson's social feeds, even long before his passing.
"This message is an example of hypocrisy at its finest," one commenter wrote, replying to the 2023 post. "You are denying claims for people who need it."
More on Thompson: Murdered Insurance CEO Had Deployed an AI to Automatically Deny Benefits for Sick People
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