Reporter Ken Klippenstein on Publishing Luigi Mangione Manifesto & Internal UnitedHealth PR Memos

Dec 16, 2024 | Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein joins us to discuss the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as he walked to a shareholders conference in New York City earlier this month, and his accused killer, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. Thompson's vigilante-inflected death has inflamed public discourse over the predatory practices of the private healthcare industry. "People working these call centers are themselves upset at having to deny claims," says Klippenstein. Last week, he published what is believed to be Mangione's "manifesto," which details Mangione's anger at the industry and his motivation for the killing. Meanwhile, healthcare companies appear to be scrambling to protect their public reputation. "I speculate that it is the absence of discourse around our healthcare system that fed into the rage we're seeing now," adds Klippenstein. "To miss that as part of this story is just malpractice."


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‘I’m Not Shocked’: Fmr. Insurance Executive Recognizes American Frustration with Healthcare System

Dec 7, 2024 | The person who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is still on the run as the FBI has raised the reward for information that would lead to his capture to $50,000. A Senate report also says UnitedHealthcare used algorithms to deny patient claims. Former health insurance executive Wendell Potter discusses the state of the healthcare industry with NBC’s Yamiche Alcindor.

This CEO’s death is tragic. There is no doubt about that. Long may he rest in peace. But it has to be said that American healthcare sucks. It is in urgent need of reform. That a first-world nation can leave millions of its citizens without any healthcare at all is an absolute disgrace. Americans deserve universal healthcare, free at the point of delivery. America can find gazillions to wage wars, yet when it comes to looking after the health of its citizens, the nation suddenly becomes strapped for cash! Such hypocrisy! – © Mark Alexander

The Mark Thompson Show: Focus on Broken US Healthcare System Following UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting, Anthony Davis

Dec 6, 2024

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About Anthony Davis here.

I have personal and painful experience of the American healthcare system. It is really not all many ill-informed people crack it up to be. For example, the Tories love it, but quite frankly, they are largely IGNORANT of the system. Yet, given half a chance, they would love to ‘Americanize’ the NHS. After my experiences of it, I would say keep the Americans WELL AWAY from our National Health Service.

At its best, I will admit that it can be good. But when not, God help you! It is profit-driven above all else. You will be charged top dollar for everything. If you think food in an NHS hospital is bad, go across the Pond and try the food in their hospitals! You’ll be shocked and appalled!

My late partner was diagnosed with tongue cancer — and no, he was NOT a smoker, so please do not jump to any conclusions — but the way he was treated in that hospital left much to be desired in my opinion. He could have been alive today with different care.

My late partner was extremely well-insured. But still, however, it was inadequate to cover his chronic illness. Once they had paid a certain amount for his treatment, the time came to let him pass into the next life. The time came to let him meet his guardian angels! This is the problem with private, profit-driven healthcare: there is a limit to how much the insurance companies will pay for treatment, regardless of how well-insured one is.

To cut the long and painful story short, in the States, health treatments are governed, first and foremost, by cost. Private health insurers want to make hefty profits above all else. When all is said and done, the bottom line is everything. Not YOUR health, but their bottom line!

Why the Tories are so obsessed by this awful system is beyond my comprehension. It is my hope that American privatised healthcare will remain THAT side of the Pond. The Americans can show us little when it comes to healthcare.

God bless America! But please, God, keep American ideas Stateside! You know that we Brits, we Europeans can do things far, far better, and far, far cheaper! – © Mark Alexander

CEO of UnitedHealthcare Fatally Shot in New York City | BBC News

Dec 4, 2024 | The head of US insurance company UnitedHealthcare has been gunned down in New York City.

Chief executive Brian Thompson was fatally shot in the chest just before 07:00 EST (midday GMT) on Wednesday outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where he had been scheduled to speak at an investor conference later in the day.

The 50-year-old was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

A suspect fled the scene and remains at large, the New York Police Department said.


Related article here.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Fatally Shot in New York City

THE GUARDIAN: Man wearing a mask shoots Brian Thompson, 50, outside a Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan

The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the the US’s largest health insurers, was fatally shot in the chest on Wednesday in midtown Manhattan, police confirmed in a press conference.

Brian Thompson, 50, was shot outside the Hilton Hotel at 1335 Avenue of the Americas just after 6.45am after arriving early for the annual UnitedHealthcare investor conference. A man wearing a mask approached him and fired at him repeatedly, police said.

Police said that they believe that Thompson was targeted in the attack. This was a “brazen targeted attack”, New York’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said, adding that this “does not appear to be a random act of violence”. » | Anna Betts | Wednesday, December 4, 2024

THE NEW YORK TIMES :

Brian Thompson Was a Veteran Executive at UnitedHealthcare: Mr. Thompson managed a division that employs about 140,000 people and offers insurance plans to employers and individuals. »

Capitalism Hits Home: Addiction and Desperation

It is sad, very sad, that BoJo and his band of merry clowns are trying to emulate the appalling American ‘healthcare system’ here in the UK! Followers of BoJo and his buddies are being fooled into believing that the American healthcare system is superior. It is NOT! It is very inferior indeed. I know that from personal and sad experience. I say this NOT as a friend of socialism; I am NOT. But I can assure you that, based on my sad experience(s), the American healthcare system is INFERIOR. Don’t be fooled! – © Mark

Health Care: America vs. the World

Millions of Americans have no health insurance and live in fear that one illness could bankrupt them. Even though the U.S. spends far more on health care than other wealthy nations, Americans die of preventable diseases at greater rates. The PBS NewsHour special, “Critical Care: America vs the World,” examines how four other nations achieve universal care for less money, with better outcomes.

Allowing Predatory Private Insurance to Exist Is Insanity

Why should the healthcare industry allow for predatory private insurance companies to put a price on American lives?

US Healthcare: Is Medicare Supplements Availability Disappearing? (w/ Alex Lawson)

Will Medicare Supplements programs change? Republicans drilled holes into Medicare, and now private insurance companies are taking advantage to take away your coverage.

US Immigrants Will Be Denied Entry If They Can't Afford Health Care

THE GUARDIAN: White House says too many non-citizens taking advantage of the country’s ‘generous public health programs’

Immigrants applying for US visas will be denied entry into the country unless they can prove they can afford health care within 30 days of entering or can’t pay for it themselves, according to a proclamation signed by President Trump.

The new rule, which comes into force on 3 November, will be applied to people seeking immigrant visas, not those in the US already. It does not apply to those seeking asylum seekers, refugees or children.

But it would apply to the spouses and parents of US citizens. That could have an impact on families who are trying to bring their parents to the US.

The proclamation said immigrants will be barred from entering the country unless they are to be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering or have enough financial resources to pay for any medical costs. » | Agencies | Saturday, October 5, 2019

Ex-Health Insurance Exec: Industry Is Using Decades-Old Scare Tactics to Fight Medicare for All

The Democratic presidential candidates remain deeply divided on how to expand healthcare to the tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have both pushed for abolishing private health insurance and establishing a Medicare for All system. Their rivals have pushed a number of different, more incremental approaches. During the first night of the latest debates, Sanders pointed out that the country has taken sweeping action before to expand health coverage to millions of Americans, referring to the 50th anniversary of the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. We speak with Janet Golden, professor emerita at Rutgers University-Camden and a historian of U.S. medicine, and Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive.

Special Report: America's Healthcare - The Great Divide

The US is the only advanced economy without guaranteed healthcare, but even those who work face a huge divide in care.

"Pivotal Moment in American History": Sen. Sanders Unveils Medicare-for-All Bill with 15 Co-Sponsors

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is slated to introduce universal healthcare legislation today, aimed at expanding Medicare coverage to include every American. In a New York Times op-ed published today, Sanders wrote, "This is a pivotal moment in American history. Do we, as a nation, join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee comprehensive health care to every person as a human right? Or do we maintain a system that is enormously expensive, wasteful and bureaucratic, and is designed to maximize profits for big insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, Wall Street and medical equipment suppliers?" Fifteen senators have already signed on as co-sponsors. The introduction of the Medicare for All Act comes after Republicans repeatedly failed to push through their legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans’ efforts sparked sustained grassroots protests, led by disability activists and healthcare professionals. We speak with Michael Lighty, director of public policy for National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association. National Nurses United has long advocated for a Medicare-for-all system.