Killing of health insurance CEO draws attention to frustration over denied claims
The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has drawn attention to frustration over denied claims, a common problem for adults with insurance.
In a series of archived posts from a now-deleted Reddit account, Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, wrote extensively about a chronic back condition that he said caused him immense pain.
The New York Police Department is now looking into whether a denied insurance claim related to that injury played a role in the shooting, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told Fox News on Tuesday.
“He was posting an X ray on his social media showing numerous screws being inserted into his spine. Some of the writings that he had, he was discussing the difficulty of sustaining that injury,” Kenny said. ”So we’re looking into whether or not the insurance industry either denied a claim from him, or didn’t help him out to the fullest extent.”
Health insurers refusing to pay for cancer care, a surgical procedure or other life-saving treatment is a common frustration for many people in the U.S., and a potentially devastating problem for some, experts say.
Roughly 6 in 10 insured adults experience problems when they use their insurance, including insurers refusing to pay for care, according to a 2023 survey published by KFF, a nonprofit group that researches health policy issues.
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