UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton in Midtown, blocks from tourist draws like Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art.
The gunman is still at large and a manhunt is underway.
Here’s the latest:
In the U.S. health care system, patients get coverage through a mix of private insurers such as UnitedHealthcare and government-funded programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. That can prove particularly frustrating for doctors and patients because coverage often varies by insurer.
Polls reflect those frustrations with the U.S. health care system in general and insurance companies in particular.
About two-thirds of Americans said health insurance companies deserve “a lot of blame” for high health care costs, according to a KFF poll conducted in February.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She didn’t have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.
Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
A message left at the scene of an insurance executive’s fatal shooting — “deny,” “defend” and “depose” — echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.
The three words were emblazoned on the ammunition a masked gunman used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday. They’re similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend” — the way some attorneys describe how insurers deny services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book that was highly critical of the industry.
Police haven’t officially commented on the wording or any connection between them and the common phrase. But Thompson’s shooting and the messages on the ammunition have sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting a deepening frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care.
▶ Read more about the messaging left behind by the shooter
The New York Police Department released photos Thursday morning, asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the individual pictured. Police say the person is wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
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