On December 4th, 2024, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot by Luigi Mangione in Manhattan. Instead of condemning such a heinous act, many Americans hailed Mangione as a hero. This public sentiment revealed Americans’ deep-rooted anger toward health insurers and the numerous failures of the healthcare industry.
Many Americans live one medical emergency away from financial ruin that could destroy the rest of their lives.
The cost of medical care has exceeded the inflation rate by 0.3%. While this may seem like a small percentage, many Americans are hurting due to the current inflation rate of 3% making the price of everyday items like milk and bread an unmanageable increase. Considering the average 3-day hospital stay can be around $30,000, even the 3.3% increase can be a devastating expense.
Price gouging is the practice of raising the price of a good or service to a price that would seem unreasonable to many. Price gouging is a huge issue that the healthcare industry takes advantage of due to their ability to get away with it. Since without proper care, people can and will die.
Fortune reported that UnitedHealth had price-gouged medication for high-risk cancer patients by more than 1,000%. From 2017 to 2022 alone, some of the largest pharmacy benefit managers, including UnitedHealth, profited around $7.3 billion from this unethical practice.
Along with unreasonable prices, many medical claims have been denied in recent years. This means that insurers have processed claims but, for one reason or another, have considered the service not to be medically necessary. In 2021, around 291.6 million claims were reported, and 48.3 million were denied.
In October of 2024, a Senate committee tasked with investigating Medicare Advantage concluded that UnitedHealthcare, along with two others, Humana and CVS, were purposefully denying claims and nursing care to maximize profits.
Tracy Pike, a father of three who lived in Kentucky, was diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer in 2023. He had started chemotherapy, but his best shot at overcoming cancer would have been to undergo a combination of surgery and more extensive chemotherapy. However, the $40,000 treatment was denied coverage by his insurers. Company documents revealed that the surgery was deemed unnecessary and that the treatment was considered “experimental, investigational and unproven.”
The following year, in January 2024, Pike passed away. In an interview with NBC News, Angela Pike, Pike’s wife, said, “… what would have happened if he had had that surgery? Would he have lived?”
What happened to Pike is just one of the many stories that have angered and disillusioned the American public. Due to rising prices of healthcare along with insurance exclusions, many Americans who pay for healthcare insurance will be unable to pay the costly bills they will be handed.
As an increasing number of Americans are unable to afford staggering medical expenses and insurers refuse to pay them, Americans are more susceptible to chronic illness as they are unable to obtain preventative services and needed treatments.
The support of Manigione is a way for normal Americans to express their anger at the dysfunction of the healthcare industry and corporate CEOs who benefit from U.S. citizens’ health misfortunes. Unless fundamental change happens, American insurance companies will continue to profit while Americans suffer the consequences.
