United Healthcare CEO gunned down in NYC

[al_infierno]

He died in the hospital upon arrival, most likely due to the gunshot wound being a pre-existing condition.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/shocking-video-shows-unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-gunned-down-nyc-street

[SpaceGameJunkie]

He died in the hospital

Hope he was in network.

[al_infierno]

He died in the hospital

Hope he was in network.

Just another preventable death caused by the broken American healthcare system 

[Jarhead0331]

He died in the hospital

Hope he was in network.

Just another preventable death caused by the broken American healthcare system 

If this is a coy way of you suggesting the problem is the firearm, this took place in the most gun restricted city in the world. This was clearly a targeted hit. The assassin had a suppressed firearm that likely caused malfunction with the cycling of the slide. The shooter appeared prepared for this in the video. This was someone with a target and experience. No gun law would have prevented this.

Regardless, you know better. If, on the other hand, I'm wrong about my assumption, I apologize.

[Jarhead0331]

He died in the hospital

Hope he was in network.

I see what you did there.

[al_infierno]

He died in the hospital

Hope he was in network.

Just another preventable death caused by the broken American healthcare system 

If this is a coy way of you suggesting the problem is the firearm, this took place in the most gun restricted city in the world. This was clearly a targeted hit. The assassin had a suppressed firearm that likely caused malfunction with the cycling of the slide. The shooter appeared prepared for this in the video. This was someone with a target and experience. No gun law would have prevented this.

Regardless, you know better. If, on the other hand, I'm wrong about my assumption, I apologize.

No way man, I'm 100% pro-gun. I know I'm generally pretty left leaning, but that's one area where I'm always butting heads with other lefties. I was just saying that if his company didn't regularly make a habit out of screwing people on claims, he might still be alive.

That said, with what you mentioned about how professional the shooter appears, it seems more likely to me this was some kind of corporate hit rather than an angry customer whose grandma died of cancer after having her claim denied or what have you.

EDIT - If anything, this story is a pretty good case for why people should be allowed to arm themselves -- not that he really had a chance to defend himself in this scenario, but you never know.

[Jarhead0331]

He died in the hospital

Hope he was in network.

Just another preventable death caused by the broken American healthcare system 

If this is a coy way of you suggesting the problem is the firearm, this took place in the most gun restricted city in the world. This was clearly a targeted hit. The assassin had a suppressed firearm that likely caused malfunction with the cycling of the slide. The shooter appeared prepared for this in the video. This was someone with a target and experience. No gun law would have prevented this.

Regardless, you know better. If, on the other hand, I'm wrong about my assumption, I apologize.

No way man, I'm 100% pro-gun. I know I'm generally pretty left leaning, but that's one area where I'm always butting heads with other lefties. I was just saying that if his company didn't regularly make a regular habit out of screwing people on claims, he might still be alive.

That said, with what you mentioned about how professional the shooter appears, it seems more likely to me this was some kind of corporate hit rather than an angry customer whose grandma died of cancer after having her claim denied or what have you.

Gotcha. Yeah...I agree that this was most likely not a disgruntled insured. I mean...you never know, but money, planning, and some level of professionalism makes me think this involved business on a higher level.

[Sir Slash]

United Healthcare is my Medicare provider and I've found them to be very well run, fair in their coverage and extremely easy to deal with. They're not the ones charging over $1000 for a two week supply of Ozempic. Nor are they responsible for having to wait 2-4 months to see a specialist. And after all, they didn't force me to sign-up with them, I made that decision on my own. Like everybody else. This is a terrible tragedy for this man's family and company that he had run very successfully and for only a very short time.

[al_infierno]

This is a terrible tragedy for this man's family and company that he had run very successfully and for only a very short time.

The company he ran denied hundreds of thousands of claims, including medically necessary and fully covered treatments that were auto-denied by an AI system they continued utilizing even after knowing it was causing false denials of legitimate claims. Compared to how much grief and suffering he caused countless American families who financed his lavish lifestyle, only to watch family members die slow and agonizing deaths while denied coverage, I think I'd probably need a deductible of $1,500 to give a shit about him or his family, who are surely more well off and set up for life than the majority of people who were screwed by his company.

And after all, they didn't force me to sign-up with them, I made that decision on my own.

Dunno what kind of job you work (or worked if you're retired), but in my current role as a contractor for a tech company, I had no choice but United Healthcare or Kaiser.  And I'm not a fan of the whole Kaiser exclusivity thing, so that didn't leave me with many choices.

[Redwolf]

I wonder whether we can have life expectancy stats for the US broken up by health insurance provider.

The same stat between countries doesn't look good for the US.

[ArizonaTank]

Gotcha. Yeah...I agree that this was most likely not a disgruntled insured. I mean...you never know, but money, planning, and some level of professionalism makes me think this involved business on a higher level.

Not sure about that...  The bullet casings found at the site had words engraved into them: "deny," "defend," and "depose."

Maybe I just watch too many hit man movies...but why would a professional leave a message? Assuming the part about the words is correct.

Those are interesting words BTW. My wife makes me watch British crime shows all the time (and there a alot of those shows...those Brits do love a good murder)...so my well-tuned "murder show" mind is wondering if these words are from some official correspondence related to a claim denial, or lost court case.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-shot-dead-gunman-bullet-casings-rcna182975

[Jarhead0331]

You guys are like moths to the flame. It's amazing how news with any tangential connection to controversial political issues attracts posts like flies on dog$hit.

We're gamers! Why don't gaming threads ever take over the new post index!?         

[Jarhead0331]

Gotcha. Yeah...I agree that this was most likely not a disgruntled insured. I mean...you never know, but money, planning, and some level of professionalism makes me think this involved business on a higher level.

Not sure about that...  The bullet casings found at the site had words engraved into them: "deny," "defend," and "depose."

Maybe I just watch too many hit man movies...but why would a professional leave a message? Assuming the part about the words is correct.

Hard to say...upon further analysis, some things were also off with respect to his foot placement and arm positioning, as well as the distance between him and the target when firing and some of the post shot maneuvering that could betray a lack of experience/professionalism.

The can and the preparedness for the short cycling initially led me to believe that this was a targeted quasi-professional hit, but now...who knows. 

[Redwolf]

I don't think you need wider conspiracy theories to explain this.

[Jarhead0331]

I don't think you need wider conspiracy theories to explain this.

It is not indulging in conspiracy theories to take a close look at details and to review and analyze the available evidence. Since when is rushing to judgment based purely on speculation and probably a distrust of the health insurance industry a good thing, particularly when it involves murder?