Social media, especially TikTok, has been deluged by people celebrating the death of an insurance company executive, and it’s disgusting. Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthCare, was assassinated outside of a New York City hotel a couple of days ago, and people are essentially saying that because insurance companies are evil, he got what he deserved. Not so!
At first, the suspect fled into the early morning hours, and it looked as if he’d disappeared into thin air. It seems, however, that police have gotten one step closer to getting their man. Security camera footage from a nearby Starbuck’s location show his murderous face, arrogant smirk and all.
The majority of people on social media are indeed celebrating his death, even though he wasn’t the problem. Others, however, are saying that he did not deserve it, and the anger towards insurance companies is not just cause for murder.
It’s been said that the gunman was a hit man with a bloodlust for revenge. Could he have been angry about being denied medication or medical treatment? Did he have a family member who experienced the same? We don’t know at this point.
I can understand the anger, but said anger is not justified. Look, at the end of the day, insurance companies are a business. Having worked for a well-known insurance company, I’ve seen the ins and outs of how and why a claim is denied. It’s nothing personal. Each insurance company has its own underwriting guidelines and there are many, many reasons for denial. So many in fact that I’m not going to write an essay about it here.
Just know that, yes, insurance companies are there to provide necessary prescription drugs and medial care. What the people on TikTok are conveniently forgetting to mention is that insurance companies do in fact approve most claims. Most people don’t experience any problems, and that is how it should be. Unfortunately, a lot of people find themselves on the wrong side of a medical claim.
During my time at the company I worked at, I was able to see why a claim was denied and exactly which guidelines were used to hand down that denial.
First of all, the vast majority of claims were automatically adjudicated, meaning that a human processor was not involved in the denial process.
Second of all, the processors there had to manually process claims and after they did so, I had to notify medical care providers and the insured that their claim was denied. I was able to assist the providers in resubmitting their claim if they felt that we were wrong.
When it comes to the actual people involved, thankfully, I never had to sign my name, something what would make it seem as if I would be the one to blame for denial. It would have been easy for someone to track me down and do to me what was done to Thompson. That’s how entitled people act when they don’t get their way, right?
Look, it’s okay to be angry with the insurance companies. I get it. I’ve had claims denied just like many others. But to actually reach out and hurt or kill someone? No, that’s not right no matter what the situation is. I understand that, supposedly, people have died because their claims weren’t approved. Even if someone loses their loved one to a lack of medical care due to denial (not our problem), there is no justification for tracking people down.
Thompson is the victim here. It’s not as if he personally denied the claims that people are so angry about. Sure, he was the main man, the head honcho, numero uno, top gun, but he was merely doing his job: running a business. It might sound harsh, but, you know, it is all about the money.
CEO’s have shareholders to answer to. If insurance companies approved each and every claim, they’d be out of business. I know that sounds cruel to some, but we all did our jobs. I had no hand in processing claims. It was up to me, however, to notify the appropriate people, and thankfully I never had to deal with the insureds themselves. That was up to the call center people. They had to bear the brunt, not I. And I always got a chuckle out of it every time I processed the appropriate letters.
Dealing with providers was, for the most part, calm and professional. The biggest problem was dealing with sole practices. Some of the providers turned into petulant children who didn’t get their way. When it got too confrontational, I told them to call me back. I’d say, “feel free to call or email me once you’ve changed your diaper.” Yes, I really said that, and that sure shut them up quickly. I never got in trouble.
Sadly, Thompson paid the price because of decisions that he had nothing to do with. He leaves behind two children and a wife, whom he was separated from for over a year. Killing Thompson won’t change a thing, except, perhaps, for beefing up security. Business will go on as usual, because it is, after all, just business, no matter how emotional one gets about claims.
Yes, it’s terrible that people die because of medical procedures that were denied. But they or their family members forget that billing arrangements can always be worked out. People would rather get emotional and play the victim rather than being, you know, proactive.
What happened to Thompson was horrible. Let’s hope that no other employee of an insurance company, whether an executive or a claims processor, will lose their lives because some sicko decided to make it personal. Hopefully, the gunman will be arrested and given the death penalty.