A CEO is murdered, and the questions begin

There are many shocking elements about the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of Manhattan yesterday—from how he was stalked by the gunman to the fact that the fleeing suspect has yet to be caught. Whether the killer was a disgruntled customer, hired assassin, or motivated by something else entirely remains to be seen. What a sad day for his family, his colleagues and everyone else who knew him.

Two other things struck me as especially disturbing. First is the reaction to Thompson’s death on social media. Amid the usual RIP messages was a wave of vitriol, contempt, and dehumanization of Thompson. Look at the comments on this YouTube video or the reaction to this reddit post.

We’re all used to trolls. What feels different is the widespread anger and lack of decency. Maybe media platforms should turn off comments in tragedies like this out of respect for the victim. 

But we also need to explore what’s spurring the hatred. UnitedHealth has been sued and widely criticized over its algorithmic system to deny coverage, its industry-leading claim-denial rates and its high profits that allegedly came from lowering compensation for care. The Justice Department was suing the company, alleging that it reduced competition and hurt the quality of care in the hospice industry. The Hollywood Firefighters Pension Fund sued Thompson and his colleagues alleging insider trading.

Thompson’s wife said he had been getting some threats. In this charged atmosphere, what’s also disturbing is the lack of security around the UnitedHealthcare CEO. He was walking alone on the street at the time of his death. As one CEO told me yesterday: “I would be asking the board why they didn’t insist that Brian have security with him at all times.”

Healthcare is an industry that evokes especially strong emotions, given its life-and-death consequences. There’s much that Brian Thompson and UnitedHealthcare were trying to do to improve the state of human health. UnitedHealth Group became the country’s largest health insurer for a reason. It’s too early to draw lessons from such a random tragedy when so many questions remain unanswered. But, surely, more can be done to avoid another.

More news below. 

Diane Brady
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