UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson wanted to improve company’s public image before he was killed: report

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

Thompson “understood that the public was frustrated with what they perceived the company’s actions to be,” according to one person who spoke to The Washington Post anonymously.

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

The typical American can lack an understanding of insurance conglomerates’ roles in the healthcare system, and it only becomes more convoluted when you have to consider the differences between the nearly 1,000 existing health insurance companies.

Thompson, 50, insisted during internal conversations that he understood the public’s growing confusion, including UnitedHealthcare’s work towards eliminating out-of-pocket costs for lifesaving drugs, colleagues told The Washington Post.

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 healthcare organizations, but lacked a partner to transfer the money to the groups in need.

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

The over $135 billion funds distributed kept thousands of hospitals and providers across the country from having to shut down during the pandemic. Thompson was promoted to CEO just one year later.

“We know that millions of our members experience complex health issues each year, throughout the year,” Thompson said in November 2022 public remarks.

“We can help carry the burden.”

UnitedHealthcare, among other health insurance providers, have faced scrutiny for years, peaking in the last few months as they faced numerous 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 inspector general’s office at the Department of Health and Human Services.

A Senate report released in October also faulted UnitedHealthcare and others for repeatedly denying Medicare Advantage patients’ requests. In this, Thompson had also been accused of insider trading in a lawsuit.

Thomas was shot dead outside the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on Dec. 4. His alleged killer, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, raged against the health insurance industry in a handwritten manifesto and singled out UnitedHealthcare.

“The reality is, these [companies] have gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit,” Mangione wrote, according to the sources.

That same rage that may have fueled Mangione has since bled online, with many social media users airing their grievances from their dealings with health insurance and some even shamelessly lauding the alleged killer.