UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson wanted to improve company’s public image before his murder: Report

Slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson warned his colleagues about the health insurer’s public relations issues in early 2024 as he tried to repair his reputation, according to a report.

According to one person, Thompson “sense that the public was disappointed with the company’s actions.” spoke to The Washington Post Anonymously.

“He was actively articulating a vision that helped better educate people and better understand what the company was doing.”

The average American may lack an understanding of the roles insurance groups play in the health care system, and it only becomes more complicated when you consider the differences among the nearly 1,000 existing health insurance companies.

Colleagues told The Washington Post that Thompson, 50, stressed during internal conversations that he understood the public’s growing confusion, including over UnitedHealthcare’s work toward eliminating out-of-pocket costs for life-saving drugs. .

Thompson proved to be a key leader in the industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Congress had set aside billions of dollars in emergency payments for health care organizations, but it lacked a partner to transfer the money to needy groups.

Thompson told federal officials that UnitedHealthcare’s banking arm could send the funds to hospitals and other providers in a week.

The more than $135 billion distributed has saved thousands of hospitals and providers across the country from closing during the pandemic. Thompson was promoted to CEO just a year later.

“We know that millions of our members experience complex health issues, year-round,” Thompson said in public comment in November 2022.

“We can help lift the burden.”

UnitedHealthcare, among other health insurance providers, has faced scrutiny over the years, reaching a peak in the past few months as they faced multiple investigations.

UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance providers had high rates of prior authorization denials for patients in Medicaid-managed care plans, according to a report Last year by the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services.

A senate report The report released in October faulted UnitedHealthcare and others for repeatedly denying requests from Medicare Advantage patients. In this case, Thompson was also accused of insider trading.

Thomas was shot and killed outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on December 4. Her alleged killer, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, had written a handwritten manifesto that ranted against the health insurance industry and took aim at UnitedHealthcare.

According to the sources, Mangione wrote, “The reality is that these (companies) have become too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for extreme profit.”

The same anger that may have fueled Mangione has since bled online, with many social media users expressing their complaints over his dealings with health insurance and some even shamelessly applauding the alleged killer.