The brutal assassination of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson has triggered a wave of morbid criticism about the state of America’s health insurance companies – and cynical support for the attacker framed as a ‘man of the people’.
Mr Thompson, a 50-year-old father-of-two, was shot outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday morning by a masked assassin, whose motive remains unclear as he continues to evade police.
Authorities found three live bullets and three spent casings at the scene, which they said had the words ‘depose’, ‘deny’ and ‘defend’ scrawled on them.
This drew comparison to the similarly titled 2010 book ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’ – a scathing criticism of ‘why insurance companies don’t pay out and what you can do about it’ – and sparked wide speculation online.
As news of the cold-blooded killing spread, medical professionals took to social media to criticize the insurer’s alleged denial of coverage to dying Americans.
The moderators of the r/medicine forum had to close a Reddit thread after news of Mr Thompson’s death collected more than 500 replies, often critical of UnitedHealthcare. The top comment, from a nurse, was a lengthy parody of a template response denying pay-out for the victim.
‘We understand that you were actively “bleeding out,” but this does not exempt you from exploring lower-cost care pathways,’ the post coldly jibed.
UnitedHealthcare, the biggest health insurer by market share in America, was rocked by protests over allegedly systematically denying pay-outs to patients earlier this year.
Surveillance cameras inside the hostel managed to grab a picture of the smiling suspect that the NYPD later circulated as part of their ongoing manhunt. He has been described as a ‘person of interest’ by police
Police sources told ABC News that casings were found at the scene with the cryptic messages left on them
Brian Thompson was fatally shot in the chest and was pronounced dead within 30 minutes
Users showed apathy towards the news in posts on social media
The internet was sent into frenzy by the reports of the shooting on the streets of Manhattan early on Wednesday morning.
On TikTok, one user wrote: ‘I’m an ER nurse and the things I’ve seen dying patients get denied for by insurance makes me physically sick. I just can’t feel sympathy for him because of all of those patients and their families.’
Another user wrote on Twitter/X: ‘I saw the news of this literally while on the phone with UHC about them denying my prior authorization for medication. Wild stuff’
Analysis by ValuePenguin concluded UnitedHealthcare denies 32 per cent of claims, against the industry average for large health insurance companies of 16 per cent, and well above Kaier Permanente at just 7 per cent.
It reported that provider had contacted them ‘claiming that the denial rate listed is not consistent with their internal records’ on December 5, but did not name the provider.
The assassination and frenzied criticism of UnitedHealthcare sparked wider debate about the state of the industry.
User Eric Gallion wrote: ‘We are taxed almost 40% and none of it covers our healthcare. We should all be demanding universal healthcare not fighting it.’
User Trampas added: ‘For profit insurance is a profiteering parasitic industry by definition.’
A post by a nurse on r/medicine on Reddit parodied UnitedHealthcare’s responses to claims
Brian Thompson (centre, back) is pictured with his wife, Paulette (left), undated
A balloon with a sign taped to it reading ‘CEO DOWN’ over the image of a smiling star and party poppers was found outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan
The same image on the balloon appeared on former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz’s BlueSky account
Pointed criticism of UnitedHealthcare took a macabre turn as users showed their apathy towards the news.
Instagram user Justin Rob wrote: ‘I’m sorry, prior authorization is required for thoughts and prayers’.
Another wrote: ‘Was his trip to the ER really emergent? According to his own company, my husband’s heart attack wasn’t an [actual] emergency and we were out 3k (full deductible)’.
A sick tribute appeared outside the hotel where Mr Thompson was gunned down soon after the news circulated.
A balloon with a sign taped to it reading ‘CEO DOWN’ over the image of a smiling star and party poppers was found outside the Hilton Hotel.
The same image on the balloon was also shared on former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz’s BlueSky account.
‘People have very justified hatred toward insurance company CEOs because these executives are responsible for an unfathomable amount of death and suffering,’ she wrote in a separate post.
‘As someone against death and suffering, I think it’s good to call out this broken system and the [people] in power who enable it.’
Detectives investigating the murder also found shell casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ inscribed on them.
Mr Thompson was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare’s insurance division, reporting $281bn in revenue last year and providing healthcare to millions of Americans.
Last year alone, Mr Thompson received a $10.2mn compensation package, including $1mn in base pay, cash and stock grants.
Other users shared their thoughts as NYPD shared photos of a hooded ‘person of interest’ believed to be connected to the shooting.
‘genxistentialcrisis’ said in a popular post on TikTok: ‘The “adjuster” is fine, like I barely like dudes and that guy is gorgeous… It was like are you right out of Assassin’s Creed right now?’
‘Just riding away on a bicycle: eco-conscious. Worried about that carbon footprint right there. Truly a man of the people, really.’
The video continued for some 65 seconds.
A congressman has condemned internet trolls currently gloating over the assassination of Thompson.
‘Seems like leftists opposed to killing terrorists in the Middle East support killing CEOs in Midtown Manhattan,’ wrote Representative Dean Phillips.
Phillips, a Democrat who represents Thompson’s home district in Minnesota, spoke as online ghouls rejoiced in the cold-blooded execution of the healthcare chief.
Among them were one poster who wrote on X: ‘Brian Thompson ran a company based off exploiting people during the most vulnerable times in their life.
‘I’m not sad he’s dead.’
Another shared a gif of a pastor praising Jesus, writing: ‘CEOs of predatory corporations getting popped, turn this up. Peace out, Brian Thompson.’
Police sources told ABC News that casings were found at the scene with the cryptic messages left on them, resembling the title of a book criticizing health insurer pay outs
Officers had appeared at the hostel on Thursday as part of their ongoing search and had also raided a Long Island Rail Road train on Wednesday
Mr Thompson is understood to have been in New York for a conference when he was shot.
His schedule was widely known, and witnesses have said the suspected gunman even knew which door Thompson was going to emerge from before opening fire.
The UnitedHealthcare CEO was set to announce the company’s hugely profitable 2025 financial outlook, including expected revenues upwards of $450 billion.
The insurer had been subject to rife criticism over as a large health insurer.
Mr Thompson’s grieving widow, with whom he has two sons, claimed that her husband had received threats before he was shot.
‘There had been some threats,’ Paulette Thompson, 51, told NBC News as she broke her silence in her first comments since her husband was killed.
A protest earlier this year led to the arrests of 11 people outside the United Healthcare headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Mr Thompson was also being investigated by the Department of Justice for antitrust violations and was accused of insider trading.
The department launched a probe into whether the private company was unfairly restricting competitors and running a monopoly.
A year ago, Mr Thompson received backlash on LinkedIn when he posted that UnitedHealthcare was working ‘every day to find ways to make healthcare more affordable’.
A fellow business executive commented: ‘Brian Thompson, this seems like a laudable mission, but UnitedHealthcare Group is failing my mother by not providing her the basic care to get better and back to her life.
Author Jay M. Feinman responded ‘no comment’ when asked for his take on the bullet casings left at the scene of Thompson’s shooting outside Manhattan’s Hilton Hotel
Surveillance from a nearby Starbucks show the shooter inside the establishment prior to the incident
‘You continue to delay any decision making and authorizations which is compromising her health even more — and if she doesn’t get back to her baseline, UnitedHealth Group is partially responsible.’
Another user, working in clinical trials, wrote: ‘This message is an example of hypocrisy at its finest. You are denying claims for people who need it.’
A sales manager at a third company wrote: ‘The only thing this company is good for is screwing their customers.’
Police are still searching for the killer, who escaped on an electric bike after shooting Mr Thompson, who later died in hospital.
They have tracked him back to the HI New York City Hostel in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and are investigating casings, live rounds and a cellphone found near the scene.
Police on Thursday released two images of a ‘person of interest’ believed to be connected to the shooting.
NYPD officials have offered a $10,000 reward for information that could lead to the shooter’s capture.
Mr Thompson is survived by his wife and their two children who live in the family’s $1.5 million home in Maple Grove, Minnesota.