Brian Thompson’s killing sparks outrage over state of US healthcare

www.theguardian.com Brian Thompson’s killing sparks outrage over state of US healthcare

Americans turn to social media to discuss dire experiences at hands of health insurance companies

Summary

The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has ignited outrage over the state of U.S. healthcare.

While his murder shocked many, online reactions highlighted public frustration with private insurers, citing denied care, high costs, and systemic bureaucracy.

UnitedHealthcare, a major industry player, has faced scrutiny for practices perceived as prioritizing profit over patients.

The attack, which appears premeditated, underscores rising tensions around healthcare inequality.

Experts see this as part of a broader trend toward violence over societal disputes, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with the American healthcare system.

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Option 1: Vote for Democrats / vote for a woman for president to get incremental improvements to healthcare and society.
Americans: yawn
Option 2: Start murdering the powerful capitalist oligarchs which will lead to zero improvements in healthcare and society but fuels fantasies of revenge and temporarily feels good.
Americans: “Yay!”
Edit: I’m not even saying we need to pick just one option. But shouldn’t Option 1 also be “yay” if Option 2 is? Why limit how pressure is applied to just picking the violent option? It’s weird how even marches and unions get a lukewarm response compared to vigilantism.
And these replies I’m getting are interesting. I didn’t expect so many attempts to justify that only a violent option ever would do any good. Let’s say that violence is the most effective option. Does that really mean we don’t try any other options? If I was this inflexible in my day-to-day life, I’d never get anything done.
- It's like Richard Pryor said about crack:
  Old white women see addicted kids in the ghetto and shrug "Well isn't that terrible?"
  Then crack arrives at their suburbs and they're "OH MY GOD IT'S AN EPIDEMIC!"
  
  Big bad drug dealer made Joey do drugs 🤡
  
  Kid, you should just make a new username that's just the clown emoji with how you use it. You have such shit takes that I assume you're a child. This one isn't wrong it's just worthless. I hate seeing your name.
  
  Thank you daddy 🤡
  Clearly it is working tho ayy?
- I didn’t expect so many attempts to justify that only a violent option ever would do any good
  USAmericans love violence. Look at their media, it's full of it. They'd rather see a gun advert or a story of some school children getting shot than a naked boob.
  
  You are talking out of your ass 🤡
  We do enjoy when a CEO gets adjusted tho;)
  
  Nah it's pretty spot on.
  Conservatives are prudes but they love violence.
- Start murdering the powerful capitalist oligarchs which will lead to zero improvements in healthcare and society
  That implies a trend instead of a one off like this. A trend would absolutely ultimately lead to improvements. The oligarchy that rules us isn't listening to polite letters and protests asking them to change.
  But if they discover that their actions lead to great personal risk, they'll quickly change their actions to avoid the risk. That means lower (fair) pay for the CEOs/stockholders. That means an end to the scamming they do through insurance. That means an end to price gouging in the grocery store.
  The reason everything is shit (aside from the destruction of the middle class and housing crisis, which is itself caused by the oligarchy), is that the oligarchy is brazen and unafraid of risk in their wealth extraction.
  Does that really mean we don’t try any other options?
  That's what we've been doing for the last two decades, and it's got us basically nowhere.
  
  That doesn’t rule out holding them accountable via a government that works for us. Having that (or working towards that) was too boring for Americans this time. But if we had that, I’m sure the rich would be at least as scared of government guns as you say they’d be of increased vigilante guns.
  
  That doesn’t rule out holding them accountable via a government that works for us.
  And how's that worked out?
  
  Could be better. Could be worse. Still think it’s worth trying in addition to anything else we try.
  
  I'm OK with trying the peaceful option first/in addition. But it is quickly becoming apparent that it's not enough.
- What improvements did Democrats make in the past 4 years?
  The last time a president made marginal improvements they introduced term limits to stop it happening again.
  
  You couldn’t find anything?
  all-time low for uninsured
  unemployment has held below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s
  income increases began to outpace price increases
  cost of living is returning to its pre-pandemic level this year
  energy transition spending was $303 billion last year, a record and two-thirds higher than before Biden
  rise in real wages for lower-income workers lowers inequality
  violent crime is down
  $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems
  signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole and provided funds for youth mental health
  $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
  college debt relief to Americans with loans who make under $125,000 a year
  cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan
  capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act
  imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act
  rejoined the Paris Agreement
  gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending
  reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year
  signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins
  reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027
  halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze
  signed the Respect for Marriage Act, requiring the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories (though not tribes) to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States
  
  all-time low for uninsured
  unemployment has held below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s
  income increases began to outpace price increases
  cost of living is returning to its pre-pandemic level this year
  rise in real wages for lower-income workers lowers inequality
  violent crime is down
  None of these are things they did directly
  energy transition spending was $303 billion last year, a record and two-thirds higher than before Biden
  $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
  rejoined the Paris Agreement
  None of these directly help workers
  signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole and provided funds for youth mental health
  If it's bipartisan then the democrats didn't do it.
  college debt relief to Americans with loans who make under $125,000 a year
  only a small amount
  cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan
  only for a short period of time
  capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act
  For a very specific group
  imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act
  Pretty sure this was because of a global treaty
  reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027
  Keeping things the same isn't a improvement
  halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze
  Getting things back to how they were previously isn't an improvement.
  $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems
  gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending
  reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year
  signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins
  signed the Respect for Marriage Act, requiring the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories (though not tribes) to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States
  I don't know enough about these to comment, on the surface they sound good but some are vague.
  
  Well, he’s not a king or a wizard. It takes the whole government to get it done, and these were done under his administration.
  
  yawn none of that matters if we destroy all life on earth with nuclear weapons. They've done nothing to address the existential theats
  
  Bad faith argument right here. 🤡
  
  Absolutely good faith. I care about existential threats. Dont greenwash away the real issues with a bullet point list of vomit to distract away from the real issues
- Its not murder if we give them a trial before sending them to the guillotine
  
  Sounds like going with Option 1 to me. Too boring for America though.
  
  More like option 1 literally wasn't an option on the paper. Stein was literally sued off many State's ballots, unfortunately.
  For option 1 to be achievable, first we need rank choice voting and abolition of the electoral college. I honestly dont understand why this didn't pass in Colorado, except maybe successful disinformation campaigns.
  
  Stein is a joke and a Russian puppet. If you want to throw your vote away vote for a leftist at least.
  
  I see you fell for the Democratic party's propaganda
- Option 1's incremental improvement to healthcare are negated by capitalism's incremental exploitation of those "improvements." They can fuck shit up faster than politics can fix it.
  Option 2 ends in universal healthcare.
  
  We didn’t even try Option 1 this time. It was too boring for most people to go out and vote. And then we had a vocal group decided to withhold votes based on their unbending principles.
  I’m not holding my breath for Option 2 given we couldn’t even make Option 1 work. Since we’ve shown we can’t come together for each other, Option 2 is more likely to end in totalitarianism as the powerful react to the violence and/or in societal collapse as every person looks out only for himself.
  
  Let's go ahead and not even pretend that any kind of healthcare reform would have happened during a Dick Cheney approved Harris administration.
  
  I suppose we could pretend both sides are the same instead.
  
  We don't have to pretend lol
  We been getting fucked since raygoon
  
  We didn’t even try Option 1 this time.
  What exactly the fuck do you think four years of Biden was?
  
  last time; not this time
  
  "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -- Rita Mae Brown
  And then the fucking neolibs wonder why Trump won.
  
  Just because there are other options worth trying, doesn’t mean we should give up on also trying a peaceful option. If we elect better people, it’s not the same thing. If we strike, too, it’s not the same thing. Nonviolent interference is not doing the same thing. We can augment rather than abandon. It’s more complicated, harder, and requires cunning and patience rather than mere brute force. Nothing has a guaranteed result, not even violence—especially with GOP/MAGA in power. All of the tools are more effective when not under Republican rule.
  
  lol. god people are trash. 'suffer for longer because we want to take the HARDER route vs fixing the fucking problem.' enjoy the violence you've mandated; its just a shame everyone else is going to have to suffer with you.
  
  We didn’t even try Option 1 this time.
  Option 1 was "maintain the status quo". Continue to suck in exactly the same way that we have been sucking for the past 60+ years.
  as every person looks out only for himself.
  That's called "Democracy".
  
  If it’s not obvious to you that things sucked in distinctly different ways under Democrat and GOP rule, I doubt I’ll be able to convince you. Not to mention, the stark difference this next administration has from anything we’ve seen before.
  If you don’t think we’ve ever made progress in this country, or that the Biden administration made only maintained the status quo, I guess that’s fine. You do you. But that’s not the case from what I’ve seen.
  I am interested in how democracy is every person looking out for themselves. I can agree that any societal system has to account for self-preservation, but democracy itself is, as far as I understand, a tool to channel individual instincts toward improving things for everyone.
  
  If it’s not obvious to you that things sucked in distinctly different ways under Democrat and GOP rule
  Sure. There are distinct differences between the two.
  There are also distinct differences in the different ways things sucked in the 1920s. There are distinct differences in the way things sucked in the 1980s. The distinctions you are talking about are trivial compared to the distinctions across the decades.
  Neither Democrats nor Republicans are currently interested in the kind of reforms necessary to address the oligarchs. The difference in suckiness between the two is certainly distinct, but relatively insignificant. We need to tackle the bigger problems; the problems that Harris wasn't capable or even interested in solving. We know we need to tackle those problems, which is why someone unable and/or unwilling to look at them gets a yawn.
  Option 2 gives us an optimistic electorate. That "Yay!" is exactly what we need. The most pressing issue we need to address is Reagan's tax policies. So much is resolved when we restore the measures we used to destroy the robber barons.
  
  I agree with most, but not all, of your understanding of our situation. Sounds like you want things to get better. I hope your efforts are successful.
- I'll allow it.
- Harris didn't promise incremental improvements though. In the days leading up to the election she only promised regression and stagnation.
  
  I’m not sure where you got that idea. Did you not read her platform or listen to her speak?
  
  Did you not notice how democrats helped republicans shift the overton window further and further towards regressivism? There was never any incremental improvement, just concessions made to distract you from how both parties serve the same masters.
  
  You and I don’t seem to agree on this. Maybe you’re just simplifying for the sake of this medium, so I’m missing some of your perspective.
  But you do seem to want a more progressive society. I hope your efforts are successful.
  
  I mean she promised to shift to the right compared to Biden, and build that fucking border wall. How is "I'm so right wing I'll include Republicans in my cabinet) anything other than regression?
  
  … promised to shift to the right …
  Source, please?
  … include Republicans in my cabinet …
  If both sides are already the same, how is this a shift?
  
  I never said anything about both sides being the same. I was only criticizing Harris here.
  
  “I’m so right wing…”
  
  Yes, I was talking about Harris there, hence "I am" and not "we are". Also I never implied she's the same as bona fide Republicans, but she was definitely a shift to the right from Joe Biden.
  
  I interpreted you putting those words in her mouth as you saying she’s as right wing as the other side.
  
  Yes, and they're spot on with their analysis. not a single one of her policies addressed the systemic issues afflicting our society atm. they were all small, pointless motions that would have not helped resolved the crippling wage suppression, the lack of decent health care, our dying climate, etc. reminder: harris wanted khan gone as well. and supported a genocide. she can go get bent as far as we're concerned.
  As being shown this week if harris came out for health care reform in a big way like bernie she probably would have won. something the left wing has been telling you twits for over a decade. stop trying to defend the indefensible shit stains that harris and biden were.

124 comments