UnitedHealth’s CEO says he understands frustration with America’s “patchwork” system after CEO’s killing

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty mourned the killing of CEO Brian Thompson and said he understood public frustration with the “flawed” US health care system.

“No one is going to design a system like the one we have. And no one has. It’s a patchwork that’s been built up over decades,” Whitty said. In an op-ed for The New York Times on Fridayhis first public comments since Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth’s health insurance unit, was shot to death last week.

The murder sparked a wave of anger among Americans struggling to obtain and pay for medical care, and sparked new interest in growing discontent with health coverage.

Whitty said he and his colleagues “struggle to understand this unconscionable act and the harsh criticism directed at our colleagues who have been subjected to a barrage of threats.”

Americans pay more for health care than residents of any other country, and data shows that spending on insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, medications and hospital services have all increased over the past five years. This can lead to unexpected costs for care that people thought was covered by their health plan.

“Health care is a very personal and very complex matter, and the reasons behind coverage decisions are not well understood,” Whitty said.

“We share some responsibility for that,” Whitty said, adding that his company is ready to work with governments, health care providers and pharmaceutical companies to find ways to “deliver higher-quality care at lower costs.”

Insurers say they are working to negotiate a reduction in rising fees from doctors and hospitals, as well as expensive medicines and medical devices.

“It has never forgotten its humble roots,” says the BT chief executive.

After a five-day manhunt, Luigi Mangione was charged with murder on December 9 for killing Thompson in a shooting outside a Manhattan hotel before an industry conference.

Mangione suffered from chronic back pain that affected his daily life, according to friends and social media posts, though his specific treatment and coverage date were unclear.

“It’s hard to underestimate the anger and anxiety that people feel toward their insurance companies,” said David Shapiro, a former FBI agent and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Shapiro said he had never seen a reaction like the one to Mangione, but added: “It’s not far-fetched given the mood of the country and the ease with which this can be cheered anonymously on the Internet.”

Many social media commentators pointed to Mangione’s privileged background as a member of a prominent family in Baltimore, Maryland, compared to Thompson’s working-class upbringing in rural Iowa, and said the murder was an example of how anti-capitalist rhetoric can incite violence. .

Whitty did not name a suspect in the shooting, but he praised Thompson’s humility, both in a letter to employees on Wednesday and in his report for The Times.

“His father spent more than 40 years unloading trucks at grain elevators,” Whitty wrote. “PT, as we knew him, worked farm jobs as a kid and fished in a gravel pit with his brother. He never forgot where he came from, because the needs of people living in places like Jewell, Iowa, were what he served.” It comes first in finding ways to improve care.”