- Title: Healthcare industry rethinks risk after murder of UnitedHealth exec
- Date: 5th December 2024
- Summary: MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 5, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROB D'AMICO, SIERRA ONE CONSULTING FOUNDER AND RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT AND FORMER MEMBER OF THE FBI'S HOSTAGE RESCUE TEAM, SAYING: "True copycats is if no one had this in their mind beforehand, also, now they think they want to try to do the same thing to someone else. But I think, like what
- Embargoed: 19th December 2024 18:42
- Keywords: Brian Thomson UnitedHealthcare crime shooting
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: US
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA004500605122024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Health insurance companies are reassessing the risks for their top executives after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday (December 4) in Manhattan, with both UnitedHealth and rival CVS Health removing photos of their leadership teams from their websites after the shooting.
UnitedHealthcare, part of UnitedHealth Group, is the biggest U.S. insurer. CVS operates Aetna, another top insurer.
Thompson was killed in an attack police called targeted as he was about to enter the Hilton hotel for the company's annual investor conference. The gunman, whose crime was recorded on video, is at large and the New York City Police Department said there was no known motive for the murder.
UnitedHealth took down Thompson's and other executives' photos from its website on Wednesday. A spokesperson did not respond to a query asking what the motivation was. CVS removed pictures of all its top executives on Thursday. The company declined to comment.
Before the shooting, most risk assessment efforts were conducted for medical practices and other healthcare providers, which have faced increasing hostility from the public since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News on Wednesday that he had been receiving some threats related to his job and "coverage" but said she did not know the details. A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare did not have an immediate comment on possible threats against Thompson.
Rob D’Amico, Sierra One Consulting founder who previously worked with the FBI, pointed to angry social media posts which appeared to show people verbally attacking health insurance companies and employees in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
"I think you're going to see a lot more threats out there," he said. "You're also seeing a lot of people out there saying how evil healthcare is and how they deny things. I think the healthcare companies have to take note of that and understand that the public is not very supportive of them. This incident is going to cause some companies to look at their security."
D’Amico said he expects corporate boards of directors to reassess their security plans for executives. That would include asking for assessments on how big a security detail to deploy while weighing the cost.
Consumer frustration with health insurance in the U.S. has been high for years and led to the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. This year, insurance companies have struggled to hold down costs and have talked about their increased use of medical management, which includes making it more difficult to quickly receive coverage for services like surgery or medicines.
It is not known whether Thompson's job played any role in his death, but the shooting has brought attention to increasing tension with the healthcare industry.
Cigna, Elevance, Centene and Molina did not respond to requests for comment about whether they were making any security changes now or had done so.
Health insurers do not provide details on their spending on security for executives in financial regulatory filings.
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