The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked renewed requires well being care reform, with key Democratic lawmakers utilizing the incident to spotlight flaws within the U.S. well being care system.
Thompson was shot outdoors a Manhattan resort on December 8, the place UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual investor convention. Police arrested the suspected shooter, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, in Pennsylvania days later, charging him with second-degree homicide, prison possession of a weapon, and different counts.
Authorities mentioned Mangione was discovered with a “ghost gun,” a silencer and writings important of company America.
The crime prompted a wave of responses from Democratic lawmakers. Consultant Ro Khanna of California emphasised the necessity for coverage change.
“You condemn the homicide of an insurance coverage govt who was a father of two children,” Khanna advised Enterprise Insider. “On the identical time, you say there’s clearly an outpouring conduct of individuals whose claims are being denied, and we have to reform the system.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts initially described the general public’s response to the killing as “visceral” and a “warning” to the well being care system.
“Folks could be pushed solely thus far,” Warren mentioned in an interview with HuffPost, calling out the “vile practices” of some insurance coverage corporations. Her remarks drew criticism from Republican lawmakers, with Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise calling them “inappropriate and harmful.”
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Warren later clarified, stating, “Violence isn’t the reply. Interval. I ought to have been a lot clearer that there’s by no means a justification for homicide.”
Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York mentioned the robust response to the taking pictures revealed a “mass effervescent of resentment” from Individuals pissed off with denied claims and dear well being care.
“In fact, we do not need to see the chaos that vigilantism presents,” Ocasio-Cortez advised Enterprise Insider. “We additionally do not need to see the intense struggling that hundreds of thousands of Individuals confront when your life modifications in a single day from a horrific prognosis.”
Senator Bernie Sanders, an unbiased from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, additionally weighed in, tying the general public anger to the broader struggle for Medicare for All.
Talking to Jacobin, Sanders mentioned, “What you are seeing, the outpouring of anger on the insurance coverage corporations, is a mirrored image of how folks really feel in regards to the present well being care system. It’s damaged. It’s merciless.”
Sanders, a longtime advocate of Medicare for All, argued that true well being care reform requires tackling the “political and monetary energy” of the insurance coverage and pharmaceutical industries.
Democratic lawmakers have framed the tragedy as a second to reexamine well being care coverage. Some see it as a chance to push for stronger regulation of insurance coverage corporations and expanded protection for Individuals. Khanna, a proponent of Medicare for All, recommended that the monetary pressure tied to well being care is on the root of a lot of the frustration.
“There’s an outpouring conduct of individuals whose claims are being denied, and we have to reform the system,” he mentioned.
Using a ghost gun within the killing has added gas to ongoing requires stricter gun management. Consultant Ted Lieu of California pointed to the incident as a motive to ban ghost weapons, stating, “There is not any motive for them past the streets,” in response to Politico.
With Thompson’s loss of life nonetheless below investigation, the incident has put a highlight on the broader discontent with the well being care trade. The crime has change into a flashpoint within the debate over deal with public frustration with well being care entry and affordability.
