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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside the Midtown Hilton Hotel in Manhattan at around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4. On Monday, Dec. 9, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the case.
At the time of his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Mangione was found to be in possession of a three-page manifesto critical of healthcare companies.
He condemned UnitedHealthcare's increasing market capitalization amid declining American life expectancy and criticized corporations for exploiting the country for profit.
Mangione included statements such as "These parasites had it coming" and "I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done."
Since the 50-year-old Thompson's killing, some have expressed shows of support for Mangione, including on social media where the Towson, Maryland native has picked up hundreds of thousands of followers.
In an opinion piece in The New York Times published on Friday, Dec. 13, Andrew Witty, the chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, called for change in the industry.
"We greatly appreciate the enormous outpouring of support for Brian, who ran our health insurance business, UnitedHealthcare, as well as for our wider company, which I lead," Witty wrote. "Yet we also are struggling to make sense of this unconscionable act and the vitriol that has been directed at our colleagues who have been barraged by threats."
Witty went on to say, "We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it. No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades. Our mission is to help make it work better."
Witty added, "Clearly, we are not there yet. We understand and share the desire to build a healthcare system that works better for everyone."
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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