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| Source: "UnitedHealthcare denies the most claims of any major health insurer, data show"--Boston Globe |
Most murders are committed by someone the killer knows. According to the data collected by the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), in the year 2021 "76% of female murders and 56% of male murders were perpetrated by someone known to the victim."
That said, the killer left clues such that the police could conclude the murder was related to United Health Care's business practices. Specifically, bullets recovered by the police (it is not clear from the articles whether it was actually the bullets or the cases) had engraved on them the words "delay," "deny," and "depose" which happens to be similar to the title of a 2010 book on how health insurance companies improperly deny claims. And, according to the Boston Globe, United Healthcare does have the highest denial rates of any major health insurer. From the article:
UnitedHealthcare, whose chief executive Brian Thompson was gunned down in Manhattan Wednesday, has come under scrutiny for its high rate of claim denials in recent years.
While the motive for the shooting remains under investigation, NYPD officials say the attack was “targeted” and “premeditated.” The Associated Press reported that law enforcement found messages on the ammunition the gunman used — “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” — which may be referring to tactics the insurance industry uses to avoid paying claims.
The company dismissed about one in every three claims in 2023 — the most of any major insurer. That’s twice the industry average of 16 percent, according to data from ValuePenguin, a consumer research site owned by LendingTree that specializes in insurance. The group’s analysis is based on in-network claims data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“UnitedHealthcare has always been close to the top,” for denial rates, said Divya Sangameshwar, an insurance expert at ValuePenguin. “You see a lot of these anguished messages [from patients] all over.”
[Updated to correct typos]
You can bet it's correlated!
ReplyDeleteThe clues left by the shooter certainly are intended to give the impression the murder was committed by a stranger, but statistics favor a killer who knew the victim--perhaps a family member or acquaintance--being behind the murder.
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