UnitedHealth Is Facing a Wave of Backlash Following CEO's Killing

The shocking murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 has left many searching for answers. While the motivations of the shooter remain somewhat unclear, there are hints that suggest he may have been motivated in part by his own healthcare coverage through the insurer.

The shooting has led to an outpouring of rage on social media as many have recounted their own experiences with UnitedHealth, and discussed all the way the provider has left them hanging. Here's what we know about how the company earned its terrible reputation.

The backlash against UnitedHealth appears to stem from the way that they and many other major insurance corporations refuse to pay for services that people need to stay alive.

"Saw mainstream news coverage about the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on TikTok and I think political and industry leaders might want to read the comments and think hard about them," one person wrote, attaching screenshots of TikTok users who made jokes about his death requiring "pre-authorization."

"Today, we mourn the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down.... wait, I'm sorry — today we mourn the deaths of the 68,000 Americans who needlessly die each year so that insurance company execs like Brian Thompson can become multimillionaires," another person added.

"The jokes about the United CEO aren’t really about him; they’re about the rapacious healthcare system he personified and which Americans feel deep pain and humiliation about," a third wrote.

According to most jokes about his death, UnitedHealth is not unusual when compared to other major insurers. Instead, the company and its willingness to deny people treatment and care that they need are seen as endemic to the entire healthcare industry, and thousands of people who have to regularly interface with their insurance providers are furious about it.

"Today I’m thinking about the time UnitedHealthcare suddenly decided to stop paying for my chemotherapy and didn’t bother telling me, so the nurses had to tell me when I checked in at the cancer center for my next treatment," one person wrote. "Totally unrelated to any current news, of course."

As Axios reports, 81 percent of people say they have a favorable view of their health insurance company.

That number drops to 68 percent for people in fair or poor health, though, and it's worth considering the fact that insurance is something that should be pretty universally beloved. You want to avoid fraud, of course, but everyone is going to need help paying for the high cost of medical bills at some point in their lives, and we pay into insurance precisely so that we can get money when we need it.

Many people despise UnitedHealth and companies like it because their motive is to make money off of healthcare that people need. Every coverage they deny is money in their pocket, and that perverse incentive makes many suspicious of the entire healthcare system.