Health Insurance Workers Fearful Amid Public Anger After Slaying of C.E.O. (HAHA! GOOD!!)

[Coventina]

The fatal shooting last week of an executive on the streets of New York City plunged his family members and colleagues into grief. For rank-and-file employees across the health insurance industry, the killing has left them with an additional emotion: fear, with many frightened for their own safety and feeling under attack for their work.

Health insurance companies have increased security measures since the killing of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, and as an outpouring of online rage toward the industry has followed. Health care leaders have spoken with frustration about feeling vilified, and in the Minneapolis suburbs where United is headquartered, police officers stepped up protection of the company’s offices.

“Clearly the employees have been shaken,” said Mayor Brad Wiersum of Minnetonka, who said the city was working “just to provide that reassurance and that security, to let people know that we are going to do everything we can to keep them safe.”

One UnitedHealthcare worker who processes claims described being cleareyed about the American health care system’s shortcomings, but also believes that she and her colleagues did their best to help patients within the limits of that system. Like most workers interviewed, she did not want to be named because, given the reaction after Mr. Thompson’s killing, she feared for her own safety.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/us/health-insurance-uhc-ceo-shooting.html

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The comments on this article are awesome!!

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I don't think this should be taken out on employees. They don't set company policy. n/t

[Coventina]

3. Here's a quote from the NYT from a reader:

My daughter worked for both Aetna and United Health Care. Her training was to deny, deny, and stall. She was evaluated by her "success" in how many claims were denied or reduced or "forgotten." I've been on juries debating insurance claims. Everyone was settled before we could come out with a verdict. The insurance companies knew they didn't stand a chance with any jury finding in their favor, and they were correct. Every juror had something bad to say about their experience with claims or the cost or how little they were paid for their claim. Profit over care. That's their motto. Anyone getting the message?

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So, yeah, they are complicit.

[Dennis Donovan]

4. No, they are doing a job for a wage, not making the rules. They shouldn't have to fear for their safety. n/t

[Coventina]

5. Just following orders, eh?

[peregrinus]

6. The guards at Auschwitz were doing a job too

[newdeal2]

11. By that logic

Are gas station attendants complicit in climate change and fair targets?

[peregrinus]

15. Does somebody who works for a plastics lobby?

[Crunchy Frog]

16. Like low level flunkies working in a concentration camp

[Wolver]

7. Lot of contradictions

Your point is valid. The majority of people working for these companies are rank and file workers. Working class if you will. Struggling to survive like most. Can't fault people for that. However - and anyone could see this coming from a mile away - the bosses, the owners, the decision makers are not having a "come to Jesus moment" as a lot of people think. They have the power and the ruling class infrastructure to exert their force at will. They will instead double and triple down on fucking people over as they've always done, and make it even harder for people being fucked over to fight back. They will instruct their worker slaves, up and down the ladder, on a new set of "proper company procedures", to stop any and all fightback from the people getting fucked over in it's tracks. The message is clear...we will fuck you over, there's nothing you can do about it, and if you challenge us in any way you will be reported to the authorities as we've just seen in an article from another thread. The majority of the worker slaves at these companies will take their marching orders and march in lockstep. To paraphrase Upton Sinclair -- "it is difficult to get people to understand something when their job depends on them not understanding it." Doesn't make it right though.

This is why you have to fight the entire system. Individual acts of fightback - if that's what the CEO episode turns out to be - amounts to nothing but tokenism that can make things worse when trying to organize a mass resistance against the system. To add a bit of tinfoil to the mix... Luigi Mangione might have been just what the doctor ordered for the owners to double and triple down on their authoritarian barbarism and crackdown on the masses getting fucked over.

[JonAndKatePlusABird]

24. Last sentence indeed is tinfoil

But hits hard nonetheless…

[Arazi]

14. Waitaminute, I've been told numerous times here Brian Thompson wasn't responsible either

That he’s not a murderer 11!!11

So who’s responsible for the denials that permanently maim, destroy and kill people? If it’s not these folks who are directly denying the claims per company policy that’s set by the CEO, and it’s not the CEO, who’s responsible?

[PeaceWave]

22. Agreed.

[leftstreet]

2. LOL

One former employee of UnitedHealthcare described seeing glib, distasteful messages about Mr. Thompson’s death even in a Facebook group composed largely of people who work in the industry.

[ecstatic]

8. I don't know about this. I know someone who works

in claims at UHC and the company has barely acknowledged the incident at all. It's as if it never happened. I've expressed more interest in the situation than she has.

[Coventina]

9. That's kind of creepy. How disassociated is she from what she does all day?

Whenever there's a school shooting, I'm on edge for the next several days.

[ecstatic]

12. I agree that it's weird. I'm the one who broke the news to her about the shooting.

And I didn't find out until around 1pm EST.

[GusBob]

10. I have often wondered about the last thoughts of gun violence victims

Here’s what I envision for the next times some guy with a gun decides to be a folk hero

Front foyer security guard: “ damn this second job, hope my kids don’t see me like this”
Random vendor on the elevator ‘I knew this was a bad cold call”
Janitor on the CEO’s floor “glad this is tile flooring”
Secretary “momma!”
CEO: ‘where’s my staff?’

Shooter: ‘I’m gonna be famous’

[malaise]

13. Welcome to the club

School teachers, administrators, other staff, kids and their parents have been afraid for decades.

[Sympthsical]

17. A friend of mine works at United

This paragraph describes what he's been telling us:

"One UnitedHealthcare worker who processes claims described being cleareyed about the American health care system’s shortcomings, but also believes that she and her colleagues did their best to help patients within the limits of that system. Like most workers interviewed, she did not want to be named because, given the reaction after Mr. Thompson’s killing, she feared for her own safety."

They are very worried someone's going to be inspired to come in and start shooting up the place. He works in Texas and says people are watching doors more, paranoid, not sure what to expect.

He's a good guy. Does what he can to help people get care. His personal battle the past few years has been getting claims approved for gender affirming care.

That's the thing about uncontrolled vengeance. People who have no say-so over the wrongs can get wrapped up in the harms.

I don't think it's good that someone like him is afraid. Thinking that's awesome is an asshole move. People need to get a grip if they think making regular workers fear for their lives is their idea of a good time. It's fucking shit.

[Coventina]

18. Well, I'm a college professor, so I've been dealing with being a target all my career.

Granted, I went into education aware of school shootings.

And also knowing that college professors are now the WOKE EVIL MONSTERS that are the source of everything WRONG WITH SOCIETY.

But, I made the choice, because I firmly believe (and my students regularly tell me) that what I do changes their lives for the better.

So, I guess I'm not all that super sympathetic when other workers, who are actively working for companies that are actively hurting people
(Insurance companies are NOT healthcare, they are money-making machines) now know the same fear that I do.

Maybe, we can start having conversations about gun reform?
And healthcare reform?
And maybe nobody will have to live in fear?

[Sympthsical]

19. And I worked in social services for years

Actively going into areas with the mentally unstable, the drug addled, and the violent.

It's not a contest.

It's also not an excuse.

Taking pleasure in the fear of innocents should be cause for some self-reflection, I think. Certainly at least self-awareness of the personal point reached. The rocker ain't going anywhere. It can be reoccupied at will.

[Coventina]

20. I think we have a fundamental difference in the definition of "innocent."

The health insurance industry makes money by refusing care.

That's just evil.

[Sympthsical]

21. Yeah, I have the usual one

Not weeding out saints and heretics according to ideological views of the grand revolution coming.

When reading about the French Revolution, I highly recommend people make it allllll the way to the end. As a college professor, I trust you know how these things go.

[Coventina]

23. I never said I wanted a revolution, or anarchy, or whatever word you're accusing me of writing.

Feel free to disagree with me, but don't accuse me of saying things I didn't.