After UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down this week, the insurance giant memorialized him in a Facebook post, praising him as “a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him.”
It was not met with a positive response.
The 50-year-old Thompson was fatally shot on Wednesday outside of a Hilton hotel in Midtown, Manhattan. The shooter was still at large as of Friday afternoon. Paulette Thompson, the wife of the CEO, told NBC News that her husband had received threats recently, but didn’t know the exact details.
The bullets used by the shooter had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” emblazoned on them, The Associated Press notes — a possible reference a phrase used by insurance industry critics to describe insurers’ tactics to avoid paying out claims.
In the wake of the killing, widespread public animosity towards health insurers ― and UnitedHealthcare specifically ― may explain why the company quickly limited who could comment on their tribute to Thompson.
Still, people still found a way to express how they felt ― to the tune of more than 90,000 laughing reactions as of Friday.
Other people on X, formerly Twitter, reacted to the news by talking about how UHC had treated them during their own health scares. Others mocked Thompson’s killing openly.
Democracy In The Balance
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