Live updates: New video shows suspect moment before NY health boss shooting

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York

Since the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson yesterday, many have taken to social media to express their frustrations with the US health care industry.

It is important to note that investigators have not suggested a motive for the killing or in any way tied it to Thompson’s work. They are also still searching for the suspected shooter, as well.

The news of the shooting, and discussion around it, though, appears to have brought the public’s long-simmering feelings about health insurance closer to a boil.

The American public has frustrations over the health care because it’s “a huge expense” for most people, says Christine Eibner, a senior economist at the non-profit think tank the RAND Corporation.

On top of that, Eibner says, insurance companies in recent years have been increasingly issuing denials for treatment coverage and making use of prior authorizations, a process which requires doctors to get approvals from health plans before they provide a service or prescription to make sure they are medically necessary.

These types of practices could be fuelling the online anger that we’ve seen since Thompson’s killing, Eibner says.

And what the shooter reportedly wrote on the bullets – including the word “deny” – could be a reference to insurance denials, Eibner added, though she cautioned that police have not confirmed the suspect’s motive.

Eibner says United Healthcare has faced many lawsuits over this practice. But they are certainly not the only company accused of denying more claims, she says.

“It’s happening everywhere,” she says. “All insurance companies are doing this.”