CEO of the largest UnitedHealth insurance company in the U.S. executed in a street shooting, prompting users to share their insurance denial experiences.

According to CNN, Brian Thompson, the CEO of the highest market share health insurance company in the U.S. (UnitedHealthcare), was ambushed by a gunman on his way to the company's annual investor meeting on Wednesday morning, and was executed in a street in Midtown Manhattan. The New York Police Department also confirmed that Brian Thompson was shot and killed in the attack. However, many users in the American community have shared their experiences or those of their relatives being denied claims by insurance companies, expressing dissatisfaction with the current system.

The CEO of the largest insurance company in the U.S. was ambushed by a gunman and subsequently pronounced dead.

Reports indicate that the incident occurred in Midtown Manhattan, New York, as Brian Thompson was walking to the hotel hosting the company's annual investor meeting. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that the shooting happened shortly before 7 AM, with the shooter waiting in cold weather wearing a mask, ambushing Thompson and shooting him outside the Hilton Midtown hotel.

The shooter approached Brian Thompson from behind and fired at least one shot into his back and right calf. Emergency personnel arrived and transported Brian Thompson to Mount Sinai West Hospital, where he was in critical condition and ultimately pronounced dead at 7:12 AM.

The shooter left clues, suspected to originate from an insurance claims dispute.

UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurance company in the United States, providing individual and group health insurance, with operations across all 50 states. Its market share is as high as 12%. According to law enforcement, live ammunition and shell casings with the words 'delay' and 'depone' were found at the scene. This may relate to the book (Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It), so the incident may also stem from an insurance claims dispute.

In response, Brian Thompson's widow, Paulette, acknowledged that her husband had received threats. Additionally, was there a security lapse? Considering UnitedHealth's industry leadership and Brian Thompson's status, Philip Klein, who had previously provided bodyguard services for Brian Thompson, expressed his astonishment upon learning that Brian Thompson was alone at the time of the incident. Currently, UnitedHealth Group's security is managed by an internal team, and security personnel were not present at the time of the incident.

Users shared their own or relatives' cases of being denied by insurance companies.

'We know that America has a gun violence crisis, but private health insurance companies, including UnitedHealth, also face a crisis of denying medical services.' The People's Action Institute, which initiated a rally outside UnitedHealth's headquarters in Minnesota, wrote in a statement.

In browsing Brian Thompson's LinkedIn posts, a customer commented: 'UnitedHealth terminated my 86-year-old mother's Medicare benefit plan on July 31, 2022, without notice. I only found out about this when her pharmacy called me.'

And 'For the past few years, I have been receiving UHC, I have stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. I just left UHC because my medication was denied. There are different reasons for denial each month. As of today, we have spent over $20,000, far exceeding this year's maximum out-of-pocket costs.'

This article, 'CEO of the largest UnitedHealth insurance company in the U.S. executed in a street shooting, prompting users to share their insurance denial experiences,' first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.