Words on Bullets Echo Common Critique of Insurers

After police reported finding words that appeared to be "deny," "delay," and "depose" on bullet casings at the scene of Wednesday's CEO murder, it didn't take long for people to draw a chilling connection. As CNBC reports, the words are similar to a scathing 2010 book about the insurance industry titled Delay Deny Defend, with the subtitle, Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. The description of the book by Jay M. Feinman says it reveals how insurers increase profits by "delaying payment of claims, denying valid claims in whole or in part, and defending their actions by forcing claimants to enter litigation."

• Wednesday's victim was Brian Thompson, the CEO of giant insurer UnitedHealthcare. As the New York Times notes, his company has come under "fierce criticism" over denial of claims from both patients and lawmakers. This 2023 lawsuit is an example. United Healthcare is the largest private health insurance provider in the US but has what CNBC describes as a "relatively high rate" of claim denials.
• Rolling Stone finds that reaction to the killing on social media has been peppered with heavy criticism of the industry. One typical example: "I'm an ER nurse and the things I've seen dying patients get denied for by insurance makes me physically sick," says a TikTok user. "I just can't feel sympathy for him because of all of those patients and their families."
• "Saw mainstream news coverage about the killing of the CEO of United Healthcare on TikTok and I think political and industry leaders might want to read the comments and think hard about them," tweeted political activist Tobita Chow. He shared screenshots of examples.
• However, the New York Times notes in a separate story that Thompson himself "spoke about the need to change the state of health care coverage in the country and the culture of the company, topics other executives avoided." The story quotes an anonymous employee who called Thompson one of the few industry execs to hold that view.

(More Brian Thompson stories.)