UnitedHealthcare Fatal Shooting

For years, patients in the U.S. health care system have grown frustrated with a bureaucracy they hardly understand. Doctors are included in an insurer’s network one year but not the next. Getting someone on the phone to help can be next to impossible. Coverage of care and prescriptions is often unceremoniously denied.

Shooting of CEO - This week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has unleashed a wave of public feeling — exasperation, anger, resentment, helplessness — from Americans sharing personal stories of interactions with insurance companies, often seen as faceless corporate giants.

In particular, the words written on ammunition found at the shooting scene - Delay, Deny and Depose - echoing a phrase used to describe how insurers dodge claim payouts — amplified voices that have long been critical of the industry.

Studies on patients accessing health care sees frustration with the system build for years. Costs are rising, and insurers are using more controls such as prior authorizations and doctor networks to manage them. Patients are often stuck in the middle of disputes between doctors and insurers. Patients are already spending a lot of money on health care, and then they’re still facing problems with the service.

Insurers often note that most of the money they bring in goes back out the door to pay claims, and that they try to corral soaring costs and the overuse of some care.