Chris Spencer

On December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel. He had arrived early for an investor meeting - an event typically centered on company profits and strategy. This time, however, the headlines were not about Thompson's leadership or financial gains but about his targeted killing. The crime has sparked an investigation into the identity and motive of the murderer, but beneath the sensationalism lies a far more disturbing reality about America's healthcare system.

A System That Profits From Pain

Brian Thompson's murder is a grim symbol of a larger issue: the profit-driven healthcare system in the United States, where corporate decisions are made at the expense of human lives. In such a system, health insurance is no longer a safety net but a means of control, turning healthcare into a financial transaction where patients' needs are secondary to the bottom line.

The Dark Reality of "Managed Care"

It's ironic that the "managed care" system, engineered to streamline healthcare, has actually been used to place profits above patient welfare. UnitedHealthcare and similar health insurance companies have morphed into guardians who decide which care is "worth" paying for and who is "worthy" of treatment. In this exchange, lifesaving care has become a luxury only a select few can afford, where the cost of survival remains out of reach for too many.

Some key examples of how this system fails the public include:

Cancer Treatment: Buying One's Way to Survival

Cancer treatment is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the U.S., but for many patients, it's also a financial nightmare. The cost of chemotherapy alone can be over $12,000 a month, an astronomical sum well out of reach for most. For the insured, it's not just the price tag that makes treatment inaccessible — it's also the bureaucratic maze imposed by insurance companies. Step therapy, a cost-containment practice, forces patients to try cheaper, less effective treatments before they can access the more expensive options that might actually work. This delay can be deadly.

Insurance companies routinely deny coverage for experimental or innovative treatments, even if they offer the best chance for survival. For instance, CAR T-cell therapy, a revolutionary cancer treatment that involves the modification of a patient's cells to fight their own cancer, costs upwards of $373,000 for a single round of treatment. Though proven to work in treating certain cancers, insurance companies often consider it too experimental and leave patients to fund it out of pocket or, worse, face a death sentence.

The cost isn't only financial; it's emotional and psychological. Already traumatized by their diagnosis, patients are forced into constant battling for their lives-not just against cancer, but against insurance companies that can stand between them and potentially life-saving treatments.

Insulin: Price of Life

For many Americans living with diabetes, insulin is a life-saving necessity. Yet, the price of insulin has skyrocketed over the last few decades. In 1996, a vial of insulin cost just $21. By 2023, that price had soared to more than $300 per vial, with some manufacturers charging as much as $700 for a 90-day supply.

This is a price increase brought about by the market monopolies and an absence of price regulation within the U.S. Given that insulin is a generic drug, the prices continue to rise because of complex webs of pricing schemes, rebates, and middlemen that favor pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers over patients. With high-deductible insurance plans, many are crippled with out-of-pocket costs.

It's not just a matter of inconvenience-insulin rationing has led to thousands of preventable deaths each year. In fact, according to a 2021 study by the American Diabetes Association, nearly one in four Americans with diabetes have reported cutting back on insulin because of the cost. The result? Diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition, is on the rise, and many individuals are losing their lives as a direct consequence of being unable to afford their medication.

Mental Health: Denied Treatment

Mental health care in the United States is in a terrible crisis. Insurance companies are notorious for refusing to cover mental health treatments, forcing patients to jump through arbitrary hoops or endure months-long waiting periods. Even when there is an acute mental health crisis-like suicidal ideation or major depression-patients commonly wait several months before accessing the necessary level of care.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 was supposed to put mental health services on the same footing as physical health care in terms of insurance plan coverage; yet, insurers still find ways to skate around the law, denying claims for necessary therapies, medications, and inpatient care.

It has been reported that every year, one in four patients who attempt suicide has been delayed or denied mental health treatment due to insurance policy restrictions. The tragic consequences are all too familiar: people in desperate need of care either face death or see their mental health deteriorate in the absence of timely intervention.

The crisis has reached such a point that America has some of the highest rates of suicide in the developed world, and much of it can be traced back to the lack of available, accessible, and affordable mental health care. More than any financial issue, failure to prioritize mental health care by the insurers is a human rights failure that condemns the most vulnerable among us to suffer.

Joint Replacement Surgery: The Price of Mobility

Joint replacement surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, are often imperative to improve the quality of life and restore mobility in people who suffer from debilitating arthritis or injuries. These procedures, however, come with a steep price tag — often exceeding $30,000, not including rehabilitation and post-surgical care.

Although medically necessary, joint replacements are among the most commonly delayed or refused procedures by insurance companies. In cases where it is already clear that waiting further will only increase physical damage, insurers commonly require patients to undergo long courses of physical therapy or otherwise "prove" that they cannot function without the surgery.

This delay in care doesn't just lead to unnecessary suffering, but also increases the risk of complications. According to a study from the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, patients whose knee replacements are delayed for more than a year are at a significantly higher risk of developing post-operative infections and other serious health problems.

Many individuals are forced to live in chronic pain for years, unable to afford the surgery they need to regain their independence. This is a situation where the value of a patient’s quality of life is directly undermined by the financial interests of insurance providers.

Emergency Care: A Financial Death Sentence

In the U.S., a visit to the emergency room can range in cost from $1,000 to $10,000; such costs are usually not fully covered by an insurance plan. People with health insurance are regularly being hit with astronomical out-of-pocket costs for emergency services.

The irony is that the very people who avoid going to the emergency room because of these unaffordable costs are often the ones who suffer the most severe consequences. Many studies have documented that many people suffering from heart attacks or strokes wait until it is too late to seek care out of fear of crippling medical bills, leading to permanent disability or even death.

What most of the people do not know is that these high costs are not solely due to medical care itself but are also driven by the extremely high prices of the emergency room facilities and excessive administrative fees. These charges can be ten times higher than in other developed nations. Care for emergencies is mostly lifesaving, it has become some high financial gamble and places the patients in a terrible situation; do I risk my life by not getting immediate treatment or incur financial ruin?

Maternity Care: For Those with Deep Pockets Only

The U.S. has among the highest rates of maternal mortality of any developed country in the world, and the cost of childbirth is a contributing factor to this crisis. Whereas the average cost for having a child in the U.S. ranges between $10,000 and $30,000, many women are forced to pay out-of-pocket expenses even if they are insured.

Insurance plans usually involve high co-pays, deductibles, and other financial obstacles that make childbirth unaffordable for many. Complications during pregnancy could result in additional procedures, such as C-sections, thereby increasing the costs. In cases of women of limited financial means, the costs are so overwhelming that they usually delay seeking care until complications arise.

The surprise to most is that the cost for prenatal care, which means regular visits with a doctor, screenings, and testing, are often not fully covered; thus, many appointments are skipped and care is inadequate. This is extremely prejudicial, especially towards low-income women and women of color who already have more risks for complications due to systemic inequities in health care.

A CDC study showed that Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to White women, mostly due to a combination of poor access to care and racism within the healthcare system. The financial barriers to proper maternity care further exacerbate this tragic disparity, making childbirth a luxury for many that is unaffordable and puts both mothers and babies at grave risk.

Murder of a CEO or Assassination of a Nation?

While the death of Brian Thompson is tragic, it really points to a deeper systemic problem. His killing symbolizes how the healthcare system places profit over human life. Every day, across the country, preventable deaths occur because of medical errors, pharmaceutical negligence, and insurance practices that put financial gain above human life. Until we confront this systemic corruption, Thompson's death will stand as a stark reminder of how corporate interests override human dignity.

Kaiser, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Other Health Insurers: Making a Buck off Pain and Suffering

Insurance giants like Kaiser Permanente and Blue Cross Blue Shield have long been complicit in a healthcare system where profits come before patient care. Both companies have faced lawsuits for denying critical treatments, such as mental health care and cancer surgeries, often with deadly consequences.

• Kaiser Permanente has been sued numerous times for refusing timely mental health treatment, with patients dying because of the delay.


• Blue Cross Blue Shield has been accused of denying essential surgeries, including cancer treatments and joint replacements, on grounds of cost containment. The resultant delays have caused irreparable harm, including disability and death.

The Greater Culture of Insurance Malfeasance: Financial Gain Over Human Life

These are not isolated incidents but part of a wider insurance industry culture that prioritizes financial gain over the well-being of its clients. This deeply ingrained culture of malfeasance converts lifesaving care into a commercial business, with patients' lives sacrificed to meet financial targets.

Until health insurers are made accountable for their role in the preventable deaths, that system will continue to operate oppressively against those who have the greatest need for it. The murder of Brian Thompson occurred on the streets of Manhattan, but the reality of the death toll is piling up behind closed boardroom doors, where the pursuit of profit dictates life-and-death decisions. It won't be until we demand systemic change that this crisis will start to get better, rather than worse, and lives stop being lost for corporate profit.

Deaths from healthcare denial (lack of access, delayed care): 45,000 annually in the U.S.
Deaths from medical malpractice: Estimates range from 44,000 to 250,000 annually, with a common estimate around 100,000.

Both factors contribute to preventable deaths, with healthcare denial mainly affecting those without insurance or access to timely care, and medical malpractice involving errors in treatment or diagnosis.

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Brian Thompson's Tragic Murder
https://olivebiodiesel.com/Brian_Thompson_Insurance_Company_Deaths_Delay_Depose_Defend.html

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