United Healthcare
UnitedHealthcare’s website proudly states that the company is “dedicated to helping people live healthier lives”, a slogan which promises a commitment to quality healthcare for its customers. As healthcare insurance premiums continue to skyrocket worldwide, it is logical to assume that honest, paying citizens who purchase these insurance plans should be able to utilise this service to the fullest.
UnitedHealthcare raked in a profit of $16 billion in operating profits in 2023, while stories of the company denying life-saving medical care claims to patients flooded the Internet. One of these patients was Chris McNaughton.
ProPublica, a non-profit organisation for investigative journalism published the story in 2023, stating that McNaughton was a student from Penn State University who suffered from ulcerative colitis, a debilitating disease that was racking up a hefty medical bill of $2 million a year. To patch this hole in their wallet, UnitedHealthcare contracted a doctor who then deemed McNaughton’s usage of an expensive mixture of drugs as “not medically necessary”, therefore barring him from any further claims.
McNaughton’s family launched a lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare, exposing the internal workings of the company which included burying specialist reports in court, misrepresenting information and even attempts to strongarm McNaughton into using a lower dosage of prescribed drugs. Following the lawsuit, McNaughton and United Healthcare settled for an undisclosed amount.
It is worth noting that then-CEO of UnitedHealthcare, David Wichmann was paid $42.1 million total salary and compensation in 2020. He resigned the following year, leaving with a total compensation of $142.2 million. For reference, the median annual household income in the United States of America was $ 80,610 in 2023.
Fast forward to December 2024: A man exits the New York Hilton Midtown, the largest hotel in New York City. He turns down the street before a figure clad in black guns him down, methodically cycling the gun action after each shot. The assassination goes viral on social media after the victim is identified as Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
Screencap of video in which gunman executes CEO
The New York Police Department found bullet casings at the crime scene, which were engraved with the words “Delay”, “Deny” and “Depose”. The motive of the crime soon became clear after the words appeared to be a reference to “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It”, a book written by Jay M. Feinman which critiqued the insurance industry for prioritising profit margins over policyholders.
The case was further sensationalised after CCTV recordings of the main suspect were released, which showed footage of a young man in a hooded jacket. The unidentified shooter was hailed online as a modern-day Robin Hood who served vigilante justice with a poetic flair. The shooter’s flair for the dramatic was further solidified after police found his backpack, which was stuffed with a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and more importantly, Monopoly money.
FBI seeking information poster
The shooter was later identified as Luigi Mangione. Mangione was a well-off, well-educated Ivy League graduate, with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in computer engineering as well as a Master of Science in Engineering in computer and information science under his belt. Prior to his arrest, Mangione had no criminal record.
Mangione was arrested on the 9th of December 2024 at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania, which he fled after the shooting. When he was arrested, police found a 3D-printed gun and suppressor, a falsified New Jersey driving license and a 3-page handwritten manifesto about the American Healthcare system.
The current motive of the crime is believed to be Mangione’s personal dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the healthcare insurance industry. Police also believe the motive is partially related to the fact that Mangione himself suffered a back injury which sent him to the emergency room. It is also alleged that Mangione suffers from spondylolisthesis, a condition in which a spinal vertebra slips out of place compared to other vertebrae.
On the 10th of December 2024, journalist Ken Klippenstein published a handwritten document that he alleges was written by Mangione, in which Mangione addresses the Federal Bureau of Investigation directly by calling them “Feds”. Included below is a snippet:
“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. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, and Walmart. It has grown and grown, but [h]as our 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.”
Mangione currently faces 11 state charges and 4 federal charges, one of them being murder in furtherance of terrorism. He is eligible for the death penalty.
Mangione and his attorney in court
It is not every day a high-powered executive of the American bourgeoisie is assassinated in broad daylight. However, some may view the general public’s reaction, particularly that of netizens, to be more concerning. Most people can agree that the act of murder is deplorable; however, most people also agree that corporations which sideline policyholders to line their own pockets are morally and ethically corrupt.
While polls found that the majority of the general public found Thompson’s extrajudicial killing unacceptable, social media users have been especially vocal regarding their support for Mangione’s actions, going online to share their own stories of denied medical insurance claims. UnitedHealthcare’s Facebook post addressing the demise of their CEO was met with scorn and gallows humour by netizens, garnering close to 90,000 “laughing” reactions. Several wanted posters of different healthcare company CEOs also surfaced around New York City, which gained the attention of law enforcement due to the seeming promise of further violence.
Social Media Tweets Regarding the Assassination of Brian Thompson:
- Today I’m thinking about the time UnitedHealthcare suddenly decided to stop paying for my chemotherapy and didn’t bother telling me, so the nurses had to tell me when I checked in at the cancer center for my next treatment.
Totally unrelated to any current news, of course.
— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) December 4, 2024
- Shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO is a terrible thing to do. It’s deeply immoral and solves nothing. At the same time, 76,000 Americans die every year because of the health insurance industry. I also mourn for them. And I don’t see any press coverage or concern for their deaths.
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) December 6, 2024
- 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. https://t.co/rbDQz47zM2
— Please Log Off From This Hellsite (@LogOffAlready) December 4, 2024
It is worth noting that Brian Thompson received a compensation of $10.2 million annually.
Many might find these reactions concerning, especially in an increasingly dark world where wars and violence are not confined to dystopian depictions on the TV screen. However, when capitalism seemingly becomes a tool for violence, this becomes infinitely more real to most of us.
We can see this happening before our eyes as we speak. It was reported in 2023 that the top 1% of the richest people now hold 43% of all global financial assets, a startling figure that highlights the inequality gap between the rich and the poor. The rich hold an unimaginable amount of wealth, while the poor continue to struggle with displacement, famine and poverty. Hence, it is unsurprising that phrases like “eat the rich” have become popularised in recent years.
For context, “eat the rich” is a phrase most commonly attributed to French political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from a quote popularised during the French Revolution: “When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.” This slogan is now associated with anti-capitalism, left-wing politics, and even anarchical violence.
Interestingly, Mangione’s backpack was filled with Monopoly money, which proves to be a pointed jab at greedy corporations and capitalism as a whole. The aim of Monopoly is to become as rich as possible, bankrupting other players in the process. In The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, Green critiques the game of Monopoly in a succinct manner:
“To me, the worst thing about Monopoly is its convoluted, self-contradictory analysis of capitalism. The game is essentially about how acquiring land is literally a roll of the dice, and how the exploitations of monopolies enriches the few and impoverishes the many. And yet, the point of the game is to get as rich as you can.”
Green also states that a game of Monopoly typically starts slow, before becoming startlingly fast. At this point, it seems that we may or may not have gotten to the point of the game where someone inevitably flips the board.
This begs the question: Is violence necessary to change a corrupt system? Are there such things as peaceful revolutions? To some, violence is never the answer, instead advocating more peaceful means such as lobbying and protesting. They agree that violence often begets more violence, which then creates a never-ending cycle of misery and suffering.
Others agree that corruption requires a shock to the system, which can be summarised in a quote by R.F. Kuang’s Babel, “Violence is the only language they understand, because their system of extraction is inherently violent. Violence shocks the system. And the system cannot survive the shock.” Although this quote was originally spoken by a character about the necessity of violence against colonialism, it seems all too relevant in terms of exploitative capitalism as well.
Some may argue that in this case, Mangione’s actions were significant and sent a shockwave through America and to some extent, the rest of the world. On the other hand, some argue that this changes nothing; we are too far gone, too complacent. All we know is that corporate greed is not a thing of the past, nor will it be gone any time soon.
Author’s Note:
In Malaysia, healthcare insurance premiums are projected to rise in 2025 as The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM), the Malaysian Takaful Association, and the General Insurance Association of Malaysia had said that insurance premiums were expected to increase by 40% to 70%. It is reported that policyholders may cancel their insurance plans and turn to public healthcare, which would place more pressure on the already strained system. However, Bank Negara Malaysia has sent out a directive, which caps the premium increase at 10% in an attempt to make health insurance accessible to the public.
Written by: Sarah Wong
Edited by: Tisyha