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Since the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, there has been what The New York Times called a “torrent of hate” directed at his company. On social media, there are expressions of glee and praise for the shooter.
What kind of people would openly celebrate the death of another? They must live pitiable lives indeed, if this is how they spend their time online.
But the rage aimed at the company is understandable. UnitedHealthcare, despite its name, does not provide care. It is an insurance company that sells financial products. Its overriding mission is to maximize shareholder value, which determines executive compensation. Its directors and executives are not bound by a code of medical ethics like doctors.
I believe that for-profit health insurance will never provide adequately for the needs of patients. The problem is fundamental. Profits and patient care will always be in conflict. The insurers sometimes have the power to deny approval of care they don’t want to pay for, and they frequently exercise it. Patients discover their insurance isn’t there when they need it most. I think those who tell pollsters they like their health insurance probably haven’t been seriously ill yet.
The obvious solution is to remove profit considerations from decisions about a patient’s care and respect the judgment of the clinician, who knows the patient’s condition intimately and cares personally about the patient’s well-being. To me, this means instituting public health insurance modeled on original Medicare and administered by public servants whose overriding mission is “to … promote the general welfare.”
Michael P. Bacon
Westbrook
