Summary
Reddit’s r/medicine moderators deleted a thread where doctors and users harshly criticized murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Comments, including satirical rejections of insurance claims for gunshot wounds, targeted UHC’s reputation for denying care to boost profits.
Despite the removal, similar discussions continue, with medical professionals condemning UHC’s business practices under Thompson’s leadership, which a Senate report recently criticized for denying post-acute care.
Thompson, shot in what appears to be a targeted attack, led a company notorious for its high claim denial rates, fueling ongoing debates about corporate ethics in healthcare.
Death is always tragic… I don’t care if the guy is a billionaire or not, he or she had family.
I would however agree that having such wealth is clearly perverse and clearly done at the expense of others. You don’t get that rich by being kind hearted and generous…
In any case, if you become CEO of a business that has sloppy morals and essentially encourage parasitic behavior… Don’t expect to be loved… Or surprised that you may get shot…
It’s like being the CEO of Blackwater… No one that has clean hands takes that position…
No one becomes a CEO by accident, it was a choice and ambition to become that level of scum…
Now imagine if companies could only give a maximum of around 2000$
I wonder how that would change the landscape of American politics
You’re off by a factor of 10: https://en.as.com/latest_news/what-was-brian-thompsons-net-worth-unitedhealthgroup-ceo-killed-in-manhattan-n/
I also had a father. Only mine was taken from me by this healthcare system. Fuck this guy. Fuck his family. Their lavish lifestyle is fueled by denying people like my father care. Fuck them and anyone who licks their boots.
No one that has clean hands takes that position…
The same could be said of every billionaire.
To put a number to it: Worth $43 million. Also stock options that were worth over $21 million.
I feel actions of CEOs and execs undo any empathy they deserve. Hitler had a wife he was loyal to, he was vegetarian as he was sympathetic towards animals and apparently was generous to those around him, but he DOES NOT deserve any empathy.
The damage they caused warrants them zero sympathy. Millions of Americans die due to lack of coverage.
Just my personal take.
The one big difference I can think of is that Hitler’s death did something. This guy here, he’s a CEO. Was it morally acceptable for him to die? Sure, he caused thousands and thousands of deaths by his company leadership, after all. I’d prefer something else, but I won’t miss him, either… But sadly it only frees up a marginal portion of their wealth, and that wealth just goes to other rich assholes.
To take down the corrupt part, you have to get rid of the shareholders and moneygivers, which sadly are quite a few.
No, terrorism has a bad reputation because of media, but if these people were scared for their lives to do what they’re doing then some of them would chose to not do it. It sucks that anyone ever feels the need to resort to terrorism, but it has historically worked a number of times to accomplish good things. It is an evil tool, as all violence is, but, as all tools, it does have a utility.
You don’t know the consequences of this CEO’s murder. Only a short time has passed. It may inspire a string of murders targeting unethical leaders scaring people from taking those positions and making unethical decisions or, perhaps, an entire revolution. Maybe it inspires nothing. It has definitely lead to some additional conversations, and I think that is a good start.
Murder is wrong. Punishment without trial is wrong. Denying critical benefits and putting people into crippling debt in search of profits is wrong. Someone did one wrong thing to stop other wrong things. We’ll see where it leads.
Apparently it already has gotten another insurance company that had just announced a ghoulish coverage policy for anesthesia to reverse course.
Pretty much my feelings. I won’t celebrate violence and death, but I’m not gonna pretend that the world isn’t a LOT better off without him. Or that there’s some really funny takes floating around out there.
Social contract is broken. We’re back to kings and peasants.
More heads will roll and I say good ridence!
Someone being invaded in Ukraine or someone in Gaza being bombed, I feel for them, they did nothing to deserve this. But people like him? Bottom on my care list.
Criminals on death row likely had more soul than those taking advantage of millions. French got it figured out… We should be more like French.
It can both be sad for his family in a way that everyone can recognise, and also not sad in the slightest, at the same time.
Idk, it’s not like his kids had a choice where they were born (assuming they’re young, I have no idea)
Ah yes, sins of the father. Traditionally the best way to carry on grudges for hundreds of years.
Why is his death tragic? Is Hitler’s death tragic? If not where is your line?
I lost my twin brother to cancer almost 15 years ago, it still hurts to speak about it today.
Even after having two children, that pain that I have in my heart will never heal and that glimmer in my parents eyes can never fully be alight as it once was. They love my children and are fully motivated by them but the pain never goes away.
As a Canadian citizen, everything was done so that we didn’t have to pay for it, his chemo was covered at 95% and so we were blessed. I wish I could have a target to say my brother died because of this person or something tangible I could strangle or yell at but the reality is, it doesn’t make each morning any easier to wake up in a world without my twin brother.
All those jokes we shared for years are now gone and only remembered by those that are close to me but never fully understood. He alone knew me better than anyone else and cancer robbed me of that. Such is the tragedy of death, we may scream victory one day but with time, we lose the enemy that we hated and only have ourselves to speak to as that person we hated is now gone.
That is why death is tragic, it is irreversible
Your twin brother was Hitler?
I don’t really have an interest in your personal loss, sorry – I don’t know you other than a few characters on a screen. But you made an assertion that we should care about the death of Hitler and I want to hear it. Is it because Hitler’s friends and family will miss him?
You’re right, he did have a family. And when you think about it, his family also benefited from him killing thousands of people. Hmm…
I would also think that Americans should take a hard look at themselves as a lot of where you are is based on decisions that have been taken in the name of freedom.
I was told that in Colorado that its incredible that my wife had 12 months of paid leave and our insurance covers most of our cost (Québec Canada) and my view is that most Canadians accept to pay a higher tax to get a service in return. There is an acceptance that your neighbor should be as successful as you and even more as it benefits the society that you live in.
On the flip side you can have a self centered culture in which no one looks out for anyone else and only make sure their tummy is well rubbed. If to you freedom is had by not paying taxes well then, your doing big corporations a favor…
I understand that there are portions of politics you cannot influence but the United States of America has an incredibly strong constitution and political institution that was made for the people. You have so many rights that other countries simy do not have. Instead of dividing yourselves, you should be uniting yourself, Rep and Dem for common causes that you can agree with.
Everyone wants a cheaper health care and want their kids to have the same opportunities. You just need to ignore the extremist on both sides who are still the minorities. We just hear them because they hold the media’s attention instead of the average American.
It is for you, as American to use those tools that hVe been given to you and unite and fight the mainstream media to stop showing false narrative from both sides of the spectrum. Start meeting your political representatives and let them know that you are watching and following them and will hold them accountable. Things will. Never change if you do not fight with all five of your fingers to make a fist…
eh, a CEOs family has made their peace with the blood money. like most of us would never even consider marrying someone who is blatantly responsible for thousands of not millions if deaths. so I cant feel sympathy for a partner. I could feel sympathy for young kids, but the guy was 50, so it’s fair to assume any kids are at least 18, at which age you either cut contact with a parasite like that or become similar. I guess I just have a hard time feeling sympathy for people who are set for life off of the suffering of others and have never spoken up, attempted to change anything, or just left
edit: typos
It’s okay to feel two things. I feel bad that something tragic happened, but also good that it couldn’t have happened to a worse person. I don’t know anything about his kids and I don’t want to. I hope his kids leave the spotlight and have a happy, peaceful life. Of course if they choose to follow in their fathers footsteps deals off, but if they just choose to live quiet, small lives like the rest of us they should be given peace.
