On Wednesday, Dec. 4, the opinions of Americans were once again torn after United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan. According to NBC, Thompson, 50, was on his way to speak at an “investor conference” when he was shot multiple times by a masked suspect. On Monday, Dec. 9, police took a possible suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, into custody. As of Dec. 10, it has not been confirmed whether Mangione committed the crime.
Currently, Mangione faces multiple charges in multiple states, including murder, possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a forged instrument, and criminal possession of a weapon in New York, according to ABC News. In Pennsylvania, where the suspect was caught, he faces charges including “carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities and possessing ‘instruments of crime.’” It has also been stated that among his possessions, Mangione was carrying a handwritten document that “speak[s] to his motivation and mindset,” according to police. They also add that, “It does seem that he had some ill will toward corporate America.”
As a result of the murder, the internet is once again divided when it comes to opinions. While some are mourning the death of Thompson, many people are more focused on venting their anger towards health insurance companies – with United Healthcare in the center of it all. PBS describes the plight of Tim and Mary Anderson, who “couldn’t get coverage for machines to help his wife breathe or talk” when she was afflicted with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). The family reportedly relied on the funds from a local ALS charity to cover costs until Mary’s death.
Many are taking the opportunity to share their own opinions and experiences with healthcare. One anonymous student says, “the reason I believe a lot of people – especially lower to middle class – are celebrating his death is because they’ve been negatively affected by the people in charge of their health insurance. People struggle to get access to affordable healthcare all the time, and it can cause them to suffer with chronic pain or illness for the rest of their life, or cause them to lose a loved one.”
The student continues that the reason some people are more sympathetic to the situation is because “they see the situation at surface level,” and that they, “haven’t been personally affected” because of wealth or good healthcare. They add that if not for “luck or community,” members of their family would have struggled with affording healthcare because of its high costs.
Another anonymous student adds that, “Even though the situation is ultimately sad – I mean, someone with a family was killed pretty gruesomely – it’s not hard to see both sides. From what I’ve been seeing, a ton of people have been treated poorly by people in the healthcare industry, especially in regards to insurance. I don’t think that violence was necessarily the answer, but I understand [Mangione’s] frustration.”
This student stated that although they’ve not had many problems with health insurance, “A lot of my friends have. I had a friend in freshman year who said she hadn’t been to a dentist in over eight years because her mom couldn’t afford the bills. I think healthcare should be treated as a human right rather than a privilege. Even though some people don’t or can’t work to afford treatment, they shouldn’t have to suffer. I still feel terrible for [Johnson’s] family, though.”
