The Killing of Brian Thompson

Brian Thompson, a health insurance company CEO, was shot in the back and killed the other day in New York. Since then there has been a huge response from people who have been denied coverage by his company. While my personal moral sensibilities don't allow me to rejoice in the cold-blooded murder of another human being, I can certainly sympathize with the sentiments of those who are celebrating his demise. The idea that someone can make himself a multi-millionaire by denying help to needy people is abhorrent.

We know that the lack of health insurance is responsible for 45,000 deaths a year, but we don't know how many deaths are caused by health insurance companies denying coverage. I have seen a figure of 68.000 a year, but I cannot verify this figure, though it sounds plausible.

It seems insurance companies are more and more in the habit of denying claims. In the health insurance field, Thompson's company, UnitedHealthcare, leads with a 32% rate of denying claims. The next highest company, Medica, comes in at 27%. I know a guy who says that every time his family has a medical bill, he has to fight with his insurance company to get it paid.

The inefficiencies of the private insurance system are well-known and well documented. If Thompson's death serves as the catalyst for the development of a more humane health care system in this country, then his death will not have been in vain. The unfortunate reality is that it usually takes some sort of tragedy for meaningful change to occur in the U.S.

Michael Smerconilsh, in his daily poll today, asked the question this way: "Will the tasteless reaction of some to the murder of Brian Thompson nevertheless lead to positive change in the health insurance industry?" I thought the answer would come back a clear "yes". The fact that it was a "no" by a huge majority of 78%-22% demonstrates the pessimism that Americans feel about any improvements occurring in our broken health care system.