Most of us have heard the news of the assassination of Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare insurance company early on Wednesday morning in Manhattan. He was shot multiple times on his way to a conference. The assailant left little room for doubt as to the motive when they inscribed the words, “deny”, “delay” and “depose” onto the bullet casings, which is a reference to the practice used by the health insurance industry to avoid paying claims.
Perhaps the more interesting thing to look at, rather than the details of the shooting, are the discussions that have taken place since in break rooms at work, in lines at grocery stores, on family group chats, on YouTube comment sections, Facebook groups and more. This is the real story to look at.
Regardless of any individual’s attitude towards the act of murdering the CEO, it is abundantly clear that there is a deeply felt anger in society, particularly towards a healthcare insurance industry that does everything that it can to prevent people from receiving the care that they and their loved ones need, all the while amassing huge wealth.
Below United Healthcare’s Facebook post that expressed sadness for their former CEO’s death, people posted over 71,000 laughing emojis compared to 2,400 crying emojis. There was so much response to the Facebook post that the administrator had to disable further comments and reactions.
If an act of violence against someone like the CEO of United Healthcare has generated such satisfaction and glee among a wide range of the population, we must ask ourselves, “why?”
This shouldn’t be a surprise at all. In online comment sections about the shooting, countless horror stories are being shared by people who have been denied critical care by this industry. Many of us know people in our lives who have gone through the hell of having to fight for whatever care they need.
One comment was, “Sorry United Healthcare CEO, but thoughts and prayers are not covered, just like my son’s medicine.”
Another comment said, “I do not like celebrating the death of anyone, even my enemies, but that doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate justice. And for those who want to argue justice, the law isn’t what defines justice. This is a man who led a company invested in killing people for profit . . . his death is justice.”
Another said, “When you shoot one man in the street it’s murder. When you kill thousands of people in hospitals by taking away their ability to get treatment you’re an entrepreneur.” In fact, it is estimated that 68,000 people die every year in the United States simply from lack of healthcare.
But why? Why is it that in this society when someone shoots and kills another person, we call it “murder,” but when someone profits from denying lifesaving medical care to countless people, the only word we have is “normal.”
This is the nature of the health insurance industry in particular as well as at the core of this entire political-economic system. It would not be an exaggeration to say that someone like Brian Thompson, who made over $10 million per year, was responsible for the murder of thousands and the unnecessary suffering of millions of people. This is “Social Murder” and this system carries it out on us every day.
The insurance industry, perhaps more so than any other industry, is a death industry. Its profits are based on an incentive to deny people’s claims. As a consequence, people are forced to take on huge amounts of debt if they want access to care. In the United States, medical debt is one of the most significant causes of bankruptcy, forcing people and their families into impossible choices. Many people who have been bankrupted by medical bills have lost everything and been pushed onto the streets.
Companies like United Healthcare have relied on artificial intelligence more and more in recent years as a tool to deny people claims with Medicare Advantage, another series of programs that allow capitalists to skim profits out of the Medicare system.
While the whole insurance industry is predatory, United Healthcare has been exceptionally aggressive about denying people’s claims compared to its competitors in the market, especially over recent years.
This episode has unearthed the deep anger that many have at the cruelty of this system. People are waking up to the “social murder” and are fed up.
The problem is that this anger has yet to find a real organized expression that will address the root causes of people’s suffering. Even if isolated acts of violence against powerful and predatory individuals like this struck a chord with a wide section of the population, they would not lead to our salvation in creating a society where we all get the care that we need. No lone gunman can ever truly settle the score against the cruel indignities of this system. While it may seem like vengeance against a system that destroys our lives every day, it is not.
The system that devalues the humanity of all of us will not go away with a couple of gunshots. Individuals who sit atop a predatory system can and will be replaced. We need to get rid of the system that allows people like Brian Thompson to benefit from our suffering.
No amount of avengers, as courageous as some of them might seem, can substitute themselves for us, the majority. Only the collective power of millions of working class people can truly organize to fight for our lives and for those we care for. Only then will we be able to bring about the changes that we need, and an end to the system that allows United Healthcare to thrive.
