A banner hanging from an overpass in the southbound lanes of Interstate 83 read “Refuse to Defend Health Care 4 All.”
Lloyd Fox | The Baltimore Sun | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Major insurance stocks have fallen more than 6% since closing prices last Tuesday, a day before CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed. UnitedHealth GroupInsurance department located in downtown Manhattan.
These include UnitedHealth, CVS Health and Cignawhich operates three of the largest private health insurance companies in the United States. Thompson, 50, leads UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurance benefit payer in the United States.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel in downtown Manhattan early last Wednesday as the CEO headed to UnitedHealth Group’s investor day . Investigators say Mangione was a critic of the health care industry – One View Some Americans express sympathy for the Internet days after Thompson died.
Mizuho Healthcare’s Jared Holz said the companies’ stock performance appeared to be a response to “new rhetoric” denouncing the insurance company’s business model, in which they “didn’t see the best results in a year.” At various times, incredible profits were made at the expense of some patients.” equity strategists said in an interview.
He noted that this isn’t a new theme for the industry – which many Americans blame for their rising health care costs.
“I think investors are reacting by saying, ‘If there’s a renewed negative focus on the industry now, do we want to own these stocks?'” Holtz said.
Like other large insurance companies, UnitedHealthcare has faced lawsuits and criticism from regulators, lawmakers and patients alike for allegedly denying its profit-maximizing claims. Americans criticize insurance companies for their refusal to cover services or treatments, unexpected bills, large out-of-pocket costs and the complexity of coverage.
Holtz said that despite growing backlash against the industry since the shootings, the negative reaction in stocks could end up being “fairly short-lived.” He added that he did not expect insurance companies to make major changes to their policies as a result of the killing.
“Do I think the company will do anything proactively different based on this? No,” Holz said.
Luigi Mangione, SCI Huntingdon, PA Booking Photos
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
New York prosecutors charged Mangione with second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm and other crimes Monday night, hours after his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The New York charges come after Mangione made his first court appearance in Pennsylvania on gun and forgery charges.
Mangione, a private school valedictorian and Ivy League graduate from an influential Maryland family, was being held without bail after a trial late Monday night.
At a court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Mangione refused to waive his right to challenge his extradition to New York City. The judge denied Mangione bail and temporarily sent him back to a Pennsylvania prison.
Law enforcement officials told NBC News that Mangione was arrested with a handwritten page criticizing the U.S. health care industry and specifically mentioning UnitedHealthcare.
“I do apologize for any conflict or trauma, but it has to be done. Frankly, these parasites are asking for it,” Mangione wrote, according to NBC.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told NBC’s “TODAY” on Tuesday that authorities were still investigating the motive for the shooting and that the findings would be “as the investigation continues to unfold in the coming weeks and months.” Revealed. But she noted that Mangione’s statement had an “anti-corporatist sentiment that touches on many issues in the health care industry.”
About The Author
