Throw the book at UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer

Two-thirds of Americans think the Dec. 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was wrong, and the suspected killer should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, according to a new /Suffolk University poll.

Most of the rest agreed it was wrong, but said they understood the anger the alleged shooter felt toward America’s health care system.

The findings underscore lingering furor with a system that spends more than any other in the world but delivers the lowest life expectancy among large, wealthy nations.

The poll comes as UnitedHealth Group on Thursday morning will report fourth quarter and year-end earnings, marking the first time the Minnesota-based insurance giant’s executives will speak publicly since Thompson’s murder.

The poll of 1,000 registered voters, taken by landline and cellphone from Jan. 7 to 11, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

‘I understand the rage’

Amanda Millsap, 41, a restaurant owner who takes care of her family in North Carolina, has had her own disputes with health insurers and medical bills.

“I’m not co-signing on killing anyone,” said Millsap, a registered independent. “However, the only people that get rich in insurance is insurance people.”

In 2013, she said the lower part of her son’s lung ripped while he was being delivered during childbirth. He had to stay more than one week recovering in a hospital neonatal intensive care unit, but Millsap was discharged after a few days.

She had purchased her own health insurance plan and studied the terms. She knew she would have to pay a $2,000 deductible for delivering a child. She didn’t expect her week-old son also would be billed the same amount because he had stay in the hospital a few extra days.

The two deductibles meant she had to pay $4,000 out of pocket, double what it would have cost if she walked out of the hospital with her son in a complication-free birth.

At the time, Millsap and her husband were scrutinizing their finances. She planned to stay at home and take care of their second son, while her husband would manage their restaurant business.

She said the UnitedHealthcare executive’s shooting death was shocking.

“It’s sad because he had a family and a wife,” Millsap said. “However, as an American, I understand the rage. It’s frustrating when you don’t have the money, and you open up your mail. It’s soul crushing. You’re on maternity leave, you have a health concern, and now you’re being charged double what you thought you were going to be.”

Senior care worker laments insurance denials

Joe Gil, a 39-year-old who works in senior care and education in Tampa, Florida, sees how health care disparities can harm older people. This is especially true for those who don’t have lot of income or who didn’t save up enough for retirement.

He’s witnessed denials for care, and issues such as trouble accessing transportation to get to appointments. 

“I can see where a lot of people, a lot of folks, would hold the company accountable or villainize companies,” Gil said.

Mitchell James, 31, of Rutherford County, Tennessee, has robust health insurance as a high school history teacher and never had a claim denied.

But a health insurer blocked a family member’s attempt to get a doctor-recommended knee-replacement surgery.

He said other nations with government-run health care such as the United Kingdom get more out of their medical spending than Americans.

“We’re already paying more via premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs than we ever would in taxes,” said James. “Insurance middlemen basically just exist to profit off of American healthcare.”

Still, other surveys show the frustration with the health care costs extends beyond health insurance companies.

A Gallup and West Health survey released Wednesday found 46% believe the country is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump’s policies to lower the cost of healthcare. Another 45% feel the same about prescription drug costs

Ken Alltucker is on X at @kalltucker, contact him by email at alltuck@.com.