Brian Thompson murder: health insurers reinforce security measures

The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on 4 December 2024 has prompted several US health insurers to step up their security measures to protect their employees and executives.

Some companies, including UnitedHealthcare and its parent company UnitedHealth Group, as well as Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Humana, have either removed or blocked access to executive biography pages on their websites. Other companies, such as CVS Health and Centene, have kept the bios, but removed the directors' photos.

Centene, which was scheduled to hold its Investor Day on 12 December 2024 in person at the New York Stock Exchange, has announced that following the tragic loss of B. Thompson, the event will be taking place online.

Medica, based in the state of Minnesota like UnitedHealthcare, has temporarily closed its headquarters to protect its employees.

Organizers of J.P. Morgan's annual healthcare conference, to be held from 13 to 16 January 2025 in San Francisco, are working closely with the hotel and local authorities to tighten security during the event.

For the record, B. Thompson was shot dead in front of the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan as he was about to enter the hotel to attend UnitedHealth Group's Investor Day.

According to the New York police department, the gunman specifically targeted the victim, leaving behind bullet casings inscribed with the words “delay, deny, defend”.

Investigators believe that this message refers to terms used by US insurance companies to avoid settling policyholders' claims: delay the processing of a claim, deny the settlement and defend the decision in court.

Another theory is that this expression could refer to the book entitled “Delay, Deny and Defend: Why Insurers Don't Pay Claims, and What You Can Do About It”, published in 2010 by insurance law expert Jay M. Feinman.

In his book, Jay M. Feinman sheds light on the tactics used since the 1990s by U.S. health insurers in collaboration with consulting firms to develop new strategies that undervalue insurance claims. According to the author, claims processing departments have become profit centers, thereby calling into question the social mission of the profession.

These practices have continued to this day, and have even been reinforced by the use of algorithms based on artificial intelligence (AI).

For example, AI can be used to sort out the claims of certain patients, so that they can be subsequently rejected even when approved by doctors.

Brian Thompson's death caused a stir within the industry, but also provoked hate-filled reactions from some Internet users on social networks, symbolizing their anger towards health insurance programs in the United States.