DL Open Thread: Friday, December 6, 2024

If There Ever Was A Populist Issue To Unite Americans, This Is It:

The fatal shooting on Wednesday of a top UnitedHealthcare executive, Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan sidewalk has unleashed a torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives.

The dark commentary after the death of Mr. Thompson, a 50-year-old insurance executive from Maple Grove, Minn., highlighted the anger and frustration over the state of health care in America, where those with private insurance often find themselves in Kafka-esque tangles while seeking reimbursement for medical treatment and are often denied.

The shooting prompted a wrenching outpouring of patients and family members who also posted horror stories of insurance claim reimbursement stagnation and denials.

One woman expressed frustration with trying to get a special bed for her disabled son covered by UnitedHealthcare. Another user described struggling with bills and coverage after giving birth.

More from The Guardian:

Comments online did not single out Thompson, a 50-year-old licensed accountant who reportedly kept a low profile. Instead, they were targeted at an industry often seen as a despised fact of life in America. Comments laced “jokes” with the sting of denial, delay, debt and impenetrable bureaucracy, all ubiquitous and reviled experiences for the throngs of Americans who are now or have been insured through a private company.

Another comment: “Does he have a history of shootings? Denied coverage.”

Ranked by size, UnitedHealth Group is one of the biggest companies in the world. Measured by its market capitalization of $539bn it tops household names such as Mastercard and ExxonMobil. The company is one of the biggest private insurers in the nation, providing health coverage to more than 50 million Americans spanning employer insurance all the way to the elderly through Medicare Advantage.

Thompson himself was part of an investigation into insider trading at the company. Early this year, after the Department of Justice began an inquiry into monopolistic practices, executives at United sold $101m in stocks, including Thompson, who sold $15m, before the public became aware of the investigation, according to Crain’s New York Business. Witty was hauled in for congressional testimony over a cyber-attack in February that caused severe disruptions across the healthcare industry. UnitedHealthcare has been criticized as denying care to vulnerable patients.

Is there anybody out there (other than retired state employees who Delaware’s Worst Governor tried to screw) who hasn’t been caught in one of those ‘Kafka-esque tangles’?  These so-called healthcare insurers provide no healthcare. They are bloodsuckers. Their record profits are predicated on ‘deny and delay’.  People die, profits skyrocket.  I’m telling you, somebody who takes this issue and runs with it will find a whole lot of popular support.  Will anybody step up?  Or are both parties too dependent on contributions from the industry to care about, you know, people?

Putin Stretched Thin?  I am far from an expert on global military alliances (said Captain Obvious), but this campaign by Syrian insurgents may remind people of what happened the last time Assad’s regime was threatened:

Aleppo’s takeover marked the first opposition attack on the city since 2016, when a brutal Russian air campaign retook it for Assad after rebel forces had initially seized it. Military intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah, and other militant groups has allowed Assad to remain in power.

The latest flare-up in Syria’s long civil war comes as Assad’s main regional and international backers, Russia and Iran, are preoccupied with their own wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine. This time, there appeared to be little to no help from his allies.