Absolutely crazy and sad story this morning. Brian Thompson fatally shot and killed while heading to an investor day. Worst part is, they probably never will catch the killer.
Would be curious to hear WSO's thoughts on this as well as if anyone has any idea what could've possible inspired this. All my NYC monkeys - stay safe out there.
I can’t think of any reason why someone would be upset with a health insurance company and want to take that anger out on an executive.
That said, I’d be surprised if nobody was caught for this. That would probably be an open & shut 1st degree murder case.
Are you serious? Here is one possible scenario:
a) someone has health issue
b) health insurance company says it's not covered
c) family member dies as they did not get / couldn't afford health coverage
d) other family member seeks vengeance on health exec
It was sarcasm
I wonder if a gunshot wound counts as a pre-existing condition
Pretty interesting and not particularly surprising that the public reaction to this is akin to Ewoks watching the second Death Star explode.
this is hilarious
I know the internet isnt a reflection of reality but damn, there was more pearl clutching over those celebrating Bin Laden's death than this guy - who in all likelihood was probably pretty 'normal' (as far as executives go).
Just shows the amount of distrust, hate, animosity, etc. towards insurance companies which is entirely justified
Just saw a report out today that showed satisfaction with the health insurance of the U.S. reached a decade high.
Source? I highly doubt this.
from 3% satisfaction to 6%?
Insurance is maybe the most broken industry in our country, followed closely by finance, entertainment, and Media.
Insurance benefits insurance companies and that is about it. The best health care system would involve no insurance companies and let people pay for services out of pocket. If insurance companies did not exist, prices for medical services would plummet to affordable levels
Facts - simple supply and demand theory
I think this is an area where Trump might be able to shake conservatives up enough from the "capitalism is always good" mantra to actually do something about it (and hopefully not just another compromise that makes everything worse like the ACA). The industry is clearly broken and needs major reform. I'm not informed enough to know if abolishing it, moving to nationalized healthcare, or what would be best, but something needs to change.
Nationalize healthcare would significantly drive down clinician salaries. Already a shortage of them, it would get far worse.
As a patient / consumer, I think we should nationalize healthcare but it is not feasible at a country of our scale that has made healthcare a large portion of our economy over the past ~40-50 years.
Capitalism / The Invisible Hand can be a beautiful thing but there are certain industries it has no place being involved in and healthcare comes to the forefront. It incentivizes healthcare companies to treat patient interactions like products - the same way McDonalds treats burgers. To generate profitability that means:
The worst part is healthcare in the U.S. is such a tangled weed that it has grown to protect itself. There is no simple solution to fix it, it's too big to fail. You need a 'New Deal' type wrecking ball legislative moment to displace all these economic parasites
And again, healthcare execs aren't bad people. But they are so far institutionalized that they've lost the plot, and view operating their business as a P&L in the same way that any other business would operate - the problem being healthcare shouldnt be like any other business
You do not even need to nationalize health care, although I would not be opposed to it. The insurance company middle man makes the system crap. There is no great need to have insurance companies in the middle of it. What purpose do they serve other than to squeeze medical providers and drive up costs. Medical providers charge unaffordable prices due to the insurance companies role in the process. A long time ago, my kid had a medical procedure done at a cost of $4,000 and the surgeon got 10% of the fee. Insurance companies are the main reason the system is terrible
I don't think entertainment & media are "broken" in how they function, they're just obscenely biased echo chambers that are rapidly being disintermediated and lashing out. Industries like Insurance, Banking, Housing, and Education are definitely broken in terms of how they function and the outcomes they achieve, which I'd argue is more a function of negative externalities and incentives caused by government overregulation.
Don’t disagree. If they’re so broken you would think there’s a lot of money to be made in fixing them. Institutions have so much inertia, though. Already challenging for fintech to make large changes to industry practice. And unfortunately insurtech has traded like a dog since 2021. Multiples prob never getting back up there.
I hope they never find the guy. Would be legendary to have this dude commit a blatant murder in one of the most densely populated and surveilled places on the planet and then just fade into mystery.
this song going around the internet about United Healthcare right now - not sure if you've heard it before:
"Tell me why are we so blind to see
That the ones we hurt are you and me?
Tell me why are we so blind to see
That the ones we hurt are you and me?"
Yeah I weep for a man who abused the crap out the system to deny millions of people coverage when they truly needed it. Truly a class act, we just lost a modern Gandhi
You know it's a common sentiment when the WSO conservatives and WSO libs are in agreement on something for once.
Yeah that’s fair, cutting govt spend and a massive regulatory burden are probably also pretty bipartisan among the public
50 years, just a fuckin kid
Go get your shinebox, kid
Let me tell you a couple of three things
He never had the makings of a Fortune 500 CEO
Not surprising but disheartening to see such a callous reaction to his death from a wide swath of the American and global public. His children will now grow up without a father. He’s gone because of the hand of a selfish and amoral man. Yes our healthcare system is terribly kafkaesque to the point that it would be improbable to recreate what we have from a greenfield. At the same time murdering a health insurance CEO doesn’t enact the change people want. It’s up to congress to regulate these guys and prevent them from taking advantage of vulnerable Americans. Sober reminder that the average pleb / normie doesn’t give a fuck about business / finance leaders AT BEST and at worst they are leftist extremists actively rooting for your demise, nationalization of industry, abolition of private property, and the execution of businesspeople a la the Cultural Revolution. We don’t need to see struggle sessions in this country. This was an attack on the hypothetical morality of a successful career in private enterprise – one where he arguably created much value for the world. People really misunderstand how insurance companies make money and how underwriting decisions are made.
Would not be surprised to see private security ramp up following this brazen attack. I expect to see the rise of a new kind of economic zone like gated communities for office buildings. Secure business districts like little Dubais and Singapores in the US. Would not expect leaders of large controversial firms like Blackrock (that people still somehow believe controls the entire US economy) to be comfortable just walking around Hudson Yards or midtown after this. Could begin to see a push for a sort of extraterritoriality where corporations have greater jurisdiction over where they operate globally.
Ironically I think this attack is worst for leftist nihilists because corp execs will never again be soft targets. Good luck trying to take out anyone else.
One person died here. We can’t get changes when mass shootings occur at schools so why would you expect changes for one murder. People get murdered every day and no one cares all that much. The CEO of any company does not deserve special empathy.
The CEOs of insurance companies make millions of dollars at the expense of consumers. It is difficult to have empathy for executives at these companies.
Sure he doesn’t deserve any more or less empathy than any other victim. I’m just saying that the abject lack of empathy in the discourse bordering on gravedancing is concerning and reprehensible. The actions of his company don’t change the value of his life. It is at the very least notable that people are able to rejoice in a man’s death and still feel morally righteous because they’re pissed at a big scary company.
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