Summary

The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has ignited outrage over the state of U.S. healthcare.

While his murder shocked many, online reactions highlighted public frustration with private insurers, citing denied care, high costs, and systemic bureaucracy.

UnitedHealthcare, a major industry player, has faced scrutiny for practices perceived as prioritizing profit over patients.

The attack, which appears premeditated, underscores rising tensions around healthcare inequality.

Experts see this as part of a broader trend toward violence over societal disputes, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with the American healthcare system.

  • Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Its not the health care that is at fault. Its the useless insurance companies that degrade it. The practicing medical professionals are as a rule competent and engaged in their profession. The problems starts at the admin level of any medical organization and just get more inefficient the lower it goes in the chain.

    • clutchtwopointzero@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I believe that MBA education in America has contributed too much to the degradation of society. Universities have failed society once more.

      • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Universities are some of the very few places in the US where people are educated to be less dogmatic. This leads to less conservative, less religious people. But universities are now demonized as woke and expensive beyond the capacity of the working class.

        On top of that, a four year degree isn’t worth what it used to be. I encourage any young people to go into the trades.

    • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
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      1 year ago

      The problems starts at the admin level of any medical organization and just get more inefficient the lower it goes in the chain.

      Hence why the Adjustor struck where the doctor prescribed… Rent seeking bean counter

    • Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      It is actually just incredible just how medical insurance companies aren’t considered legally frauds.

      • stringere@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        It is actually just incredible just how medical for profit insurance companies aren’t considered legally frauds.

    • EvilZ@thelemmy.club
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      1 year ago

      … I would honestly say that it’s the whole system that is to be changed…

      America’s pay the higher fees in terms of health care for one of the lowest amount of services…

      As George Carlin said about elites, view the link from YouTube for more info : https://m.youtube.com/shorts/Pmo_zA8UAEA

  • Realitätsverlust@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    Experts see this as part of a broader trend toward violence over societal disputes

    If you take away everything, at some point, people have nothing to lose

  • zephorah@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    From FDR to ~1981 we invested in the creation of a middle class. Oh yes, the middle class was created by government subsidy. The 1950s was unique because the prosperous creation blasted into the American scene for the first time. It evolved from there, in part, because it was also being built on the backs of women being crushed into singular stifling roles. Go ahead, ask your boomer mom about her mom, how happy and sane and unmedicated she was. Outliers exist. But that piece is for another thread.

    Subsidizing middle class began to be peeled away ~1981. Basically, the theory was, investing in the investors and corporate is simply more efficient, financially, and will trickle down to the rest of society. We’ve all felt the long term impact of that experiment and it’s not making anyone working class very happy.

    2021, yea GramPOTUS started to peel back up pre1981. Have we felt it? Teamsters maybe in knowing they still have a retirement, but the truth of it is, breaking shit has lasting impact and turning it around will not be felt for a while.

    I highly doubt 2025 will subsidize the middle class and try to get us back to pre-1981. But we will see.

    My point is, this financial squeeze is the culmination of 40yrs of government policy. Bezos gets a penis rocket, we get lack of homes, healthcare debt, the inability to raise children due to costs, and a wonderful feeling of anxiety and anger.

    Either way. 1950s or the present crushing situation: government created.

    • D1G17AL@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      They shouldn’t be surprised at the reaction when they are actively doing this to THE WORLDS MOST WELL-ARMED POPULATION. What the fuck did they think would happen?

    • theangryseal@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That thing about asking my mom about her mom. She wouldn’t be able to tell me much. My aunts and uncle are boomers, my mom is gen x. She was born 10 years after her youngest sibling so obviously a total accident.

      Her mom shot herself when my mom was only 4 years old. So, yeah. You got it right.

  • atro_city@fedia.io
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    1 year ago

    > Don’t vote in local elections

    > Don’t vote in county elections

    > Don’t vote in state elections

    > Don’t vote in federal elections

    > Maybe votes in presidential election

    > If vote is cast in election, it’s for own interest or for the rich, not for the common good

    > “Why isn’t America getting better chat?”

    • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
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      1 year ago

      THE Adjustor is a better politicians since he actually brings people together. Never seen left and right this united.

      Current regime whores are just that.

      Stop pretending like voting matters, it has been clearly shown it doesn’t…

  • LANIK2000@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m not noticing much follow up action. I’d like to be proud of you people for once, show the world you aren’t COMPLETELY incapable of citizen led change. If you want to be free the establishment needs to change, not just billionaires sharing a TINY bit more, hoping that’s enough to not be shot.

  • Lenny@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Wait, let’s see… I have to spend hundreds of dollars a month so when I get sick or injured, I have to pay hundreds of dollars upfront to meet a requirement to still pay a large portion of the bill. All so some mediocre guy with excessive wealth can buy another yacht. My health is a commodity to them. And I’m supposed to give ANY fucks when it all goes wrong for them? Did that dude spare even a moment to think about the people choosing a slow agonizing death to spare their family a life of medical debt? This man ran a racket that paid for his vacations with people’s lives, and now it’s come back to bite him (to death). I ain’t mad.

  • Drusas@fedia.io
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    1 year ago

    Experts see this as part of a broader trend toward violence over societal disputes, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with anger at the blatant corruption of the American healthcare system.

    FTFY

  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    UnitedHealthcare, a major industry player, has faced scrutiny for practices perceived as prioritizing profit over patients.

    Perceived? Of course they prioritize profit over patients. They, along with every other capitalist firm, must prioritize profit over every other consideration. Everything is secondary to maximum, ever increasing profits.

  • Drusas@fedia.io
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    1 year ago

    Maybe you shouldn’t have an accountant in charge of a “healthcare” company.

    I’m sorry for the multiple comments. I have a lot of background and trauma related to dealing with health insurance companies. They are parasites sucking out the blood of those who can least afford it and ruining their lives when they can’t pay the bills left over after they deny claims.

    • SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Healthcare companies should only be allowed to operate under non-profit rules.

      There should be no incentive for profit on people’s health.

    • Mythra@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      Parasites at least play an important role in their ecosystems. I have no (or too many) words to describe my hatred for people like this that commit social murder all the time.

    • YonderEpochs@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      And the thing is, the “trade” they inflict is just so amazingly unreasonable. The incredible misery they cause, replicated over so many people, and for truly no greater purpose than keeping up with the perverse status symbol competition amongst their hideous peers. Absolutely wild, unhinged, clearly malignant behavior.

  • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Option 1: Vote for Democrats / vote for a woman for president to get incremental improvements to healthcare and society.
    Americans: yawn

    Option 2: Start murdering the powerful capitalist oligarchs which will lead to zero improvements in healthcare and society but fuels fantasies of revenge and temporarily feels good.
    Americans: “Yay!”

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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      1 year ago

      Option 1’s incremental improvement to healthcare are negated by capitalism’s incremental exploitation of those “improvements.” They can fuck shit up faster than politics can fix it.

      Option 2 ends in universal healthcare.

      • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        We didn’t even try Option 1 this time. It was too boring for most people to go out and vote. And then we had a vocal group decided to withhold votes based on their unbending principles.

        I’m not holding my breath for Option 2 given we couldn’t even make Option 1 work. Since we’ve shown we can’t come together for each other, Option 2 is more likely to end in totalitarianism as the powerful react to the violence and/or in societal collapse as every person looks out only for himself.

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          We didn’t even try Option 1 this time.

          What exactly the fuck do you think four years of Biden was?

            • grue@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Rita Mae Brown

              And then the fucking neolibs wonder why Trump won.

              • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Just because there are other options worth trying, doesn’t mean we should give up on also trying a peaceful option. If we elect better people, it’s not the same thing. If we strike, too, it’s not the same thing. Nonviolent interference is not doing the same thing. We can augment rather than abandon. It’s more complicated, harder, and requires cunning and patience rather than mere brute force. Nothing has a guaranteed result, not even violence—especially with GOP/MAGA in power. All of the tools are more effective when not under Republican rule.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          We didn’t even try Option 1 this time.

          Option 1 was “maintain the status quo”. Continue to suck in exactly the same way that we have been sucking for the past 60+ years.

          as every person looks out only for himself.

          That’s called “Democracy”.

          • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            If it’s not obvious to you that things sucked in distinctly different ways under Democrat and GOP rule, I doubt I’ll be able to convince you. Not to mention, the stark difference this next administration has from anything we’ve seen before.

            If you don’t think we’ve ever made progress in this country, or that the Biden administration made only maintained the status quo, I guess that’s fine. You do you. But that’s not the case from what I’ve seen.

            I am interested in how democracy is every person looking out for themselves. I can agree that any societal system has to account for self-preservation, but democracy itself is, as far as I understand, a tool to channel individual instincts toward improving things for everyone.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              1 year ago

              If it’s not obvious to you that things sucked in distinctly different ways under Democrat and GOP rule

              Sure. There are distinct differences between the two.

              There are also distinct differences in the different ways things sucked in the 1920s. There are distinct differences in the way things sucked in the 1980s. The distinctions you are talking about are trivial compared to the distinctions across the decades.

              Neither Democrats nor Republicans are currently interested in the kind of reforms necessary to address the oligarchs. The difference in suckiness between the two is certainly distinct, but relatively insignificant. We need to tackle the bigger problems; the problems that Harris wasn’t capable or even interested in solving. We know we need to tackle those problems, which is why someone unable and/or unwilling to look at them gets a yawn.

              Option 2 gives us an optimistic electorate. That “Yay!” is exactly what we need. The most pressing issue we need to address is Reagan’s tax policies. So much is resolved when we restore the measures we used to destroy the robber barons.

              • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I agree with most, but not all, of your understanding of our situation. Sounds like you want things to get better. I hope your efforts are successful.

        • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Let’s go ahead and not even pretend that any kind of healthcare reform would have happened during a Dick Cheney approved Harris administration.

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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      1 year ago

      Harris didn’t promise incremental improvements though. In the days leading up to the election she only promised regression and stagnation.

      • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’m not sure where you got that idea. Did you not read her platform or listen to her speak?

        • jatone@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          Yes, and they’re spot on with their analysis. not a single one of her policies addressed the systemic issues afflicting our society atm. they were all small, pointless motions that would have not helped resolved the crippling wage suppression, the lack of decent health care, our dying climate, etc. reminder: harris wanted khan gone as well. and supported a genocide. she can go get bent as far as we’re concerned.

          As being shown this week if harris came out for health care reform in a big way like bernie she probably would have won. something the left wing has been telling you twits for over a decade. stop trying to defend the indefensible shit stains that harris and biden were.

        • Mythra@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          1 year ago

          Did you not notice how democrats helped republicans shift the overton window further and further towards regressivism? There was never any incremental improvement, just concessions made to distract you from how both parties serve the same masters.

          • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            You and I don’t seem to agree on this. Maybe you’re just simplifying for the sake of this medium, so I’m missing some of your perspective.

            But you do seem to want a more progressive society. I hope your efforts are successful.

        • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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          1 year ago

          I mean she promised to shift to the right compared to Biden, and build that fucking border wall. How is "I’m so right wing I’ll include Republicans in my cabinet) anything other than regression?

          • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            … promised to shift to the right …

            Source, please?

            … include Republicans in my cabinet …

            If both sides are already the same, how is this a shift?

                • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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                  1 year ago

                  Yes, I was talking about Harris there, hence “I am” and not “we are”. Also I never implied she’s the same as bona fide Republicans, but she was definitely a shift to the right from Joe Biden.

    • RobotToaster@mander.xyz
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      1 year ago

      What improvements did Democrats make in the past 4 years?

      The last time a president made marginal improvements they introduced term limits to stop it happening again.

      • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You couldn’t find anything?

        • all-time low for uninsured
        • unemployment has held below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s
        • income increases began to outpace price increases
        • cost of living is returning to its pre-pandemic level this year
        • energy transition spending was $303 billion last year, a record and two-thirds higher than before Biden
        • rise in real wages for lower-income workers lowers inequality
        • violent crime is down
        • $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems
        • signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole and provided funds for youth mental health
        • $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
        • college debt relief to Americans with loans who make under $125,000 a year
        • cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan
        • capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act
        • imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act
        • rejoined the Paris Agreement
        • gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending
        • reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year
        • signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins
        • reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027
        • halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze
        • signed the Respect for Marriage Act, requiring the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories (though not tribes) to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States
        • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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          1 year ago

          yawn none of that matters if we destroy all life on earth with nuclear weapons. They’ve done nothing to address the existential theats

        • RobotToaster@mander.xyz
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          1 year ago
          • all-time low for uninsured
          • unemployment has held below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s
          • income increases began to outpace price increases
          • cost of living is returning to its pre-pandemic level this year
          • rise in real wages for lower-income workers lowers inequality
          • violent crime is down

          None of these are things they did directly

          • energy transition spending was $303 billion last year, a record and two-thirds higher than before Biden
          • $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
          • rejoined the Paris Agreement

          None of these directly help workers

          • signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole and provided funds for youth mental health

          If it’s bipartisan then the democrats didn’t do it.

          • college debt relief to Americans with loans who make under $125,000 a year

          only a small amount

          • cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan

          only for a short period of time

          • capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act

          For a very specific group

          • imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act

          Pretty sure this was because of a global treaty

          • reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027

          Keeping things the same isn’t a improvement

          • halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze

          Getting things back to how they were previously isn’t an improvement.

          • $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems
          • gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending
          • reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year
          • signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins
          • signed the Respect for Marriage Act, requiring the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories (though not tribes) to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States

          I don’t know enough about these to comment, on the surface they sound good but some are vague.

          • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Well, he’s not a king or a wizard. It takes the whole government to get it done, and these were done under his administration.

    • atro_city@fedia.io
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      1 year ago

      I didn’t expect so many attempts to justify that only a violent option ever would do any good

      USAmericans love violence. Look at their media, it’s full of it. They’d rather see a gun advert or a story of some school children getting shot than a naked boob.

        • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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          1 year ago

          More like option 1 literally wasn’t an option on the paper. Stein was literally sued off many State’s ballots, unfortunately.

          For option 1 to he achievable, first we need rank choice voting and abolition of the electoral college. I honeslty dont understand why this was downvotes in Colorado, except maybe successful disinformation campaigns.

    • niktemadur@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s like Richard Pryor said about crack:

      Old white women see addicted kids in the ghetto and shrug “Well isn’t that terrible?”
      Then crack arrives at their suburbs and they’re “OH MY GOD IT’S AN EPIDEMIC!”

        • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Kid, you should just make a new username that’s just the clown emoji with how you use it. You have such shit takes that I assume you’re a child. This one isn’t wrong it’s just worthless. I hate seeing your name.

    • Olgratin_Magmatoe@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Start murdering the powerful capitalist oligarchs which will lead to zero improvements in healthcare and society

      That implies a trend instead of a one off like this. A trend would absolutely ultimately lead to improvements. The oligarchy that rules us isn’t listening to polite letters and protests asking them to change.

      But if they discover that their actions lead to great personal risk, they’ll quickly change their actions to avoid the risk. That means lower (fair) pay for the CEOs/stockholders. That means an end to the scamming they do through insurance. That means an end to price gouging in the grocery store.

      The reason everything is shit (aside from the destruction of the middle class and housing crisis, which is itself caused by the oligarchy), is that the oligarchy is brazen and unafraid of risk in their wealth extraction.

      Does that really mean we don’t try any other options?

      That’s what we’ve been doing for the last two decades, and it’s got us basically nowhere.

      • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That doesn’t rule out holding them accountable via a government that works for us. Having that (or working towards that) was too boring for Americans this time. But if we had that, I’m sure the rich would be at least as scared of government guns as you say they’d be of increased vigilante guns.