ltlee1
2024-12-08 20:51:13 UTC
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Permalinkhow the U.S. health insurance industry operates. But the killing—and
especially the public response to it—says less about the state of
American health care than it does about the state of our democracy. As
Americans have fewer and fewer lawful means to peacefully address social
and economic issues or resolve disputes among themselves, targeted
killings like this may only become more common.
..
Few institutions in American life are as ubiquitously autocratic as a
health insurance company. Anyone who has had even a passing brush with a
health insurer knows how humiliating it can be to interact with them,
begging for coverage of major health events for which you have
theoretically paid thousands of dollars. The majority of adults in this
country are legally required to pay health insurers each month under the
theory that their payments will help defray future medical expenses. As
publicly traded companies that are accountable to their shareholders,
however, health insurers are incentivized to avoid making those payments
whenever possible.
..
A Senate investigation found similar problems with the company’s opaque
methods to deny access to care. “According to documents obtained from
PSI’s investigation, UnitedHealthcare’s prior authorization denial rate
surged from 10.9 percent in 2020, to 16.3 percent in 2021, to 22.7
percent in 2022,” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal said in an
October release. ...
What can anyone do to address this? Most Americans today, however, do
not have the resources to challenge a health insurer in court. Appealing
to lawmakers for reforms is even harder. The health insurance industry
spent more than $60 million on campaign contributions to Democratic and
Republican candidates alike in the last election cycle, giving them
access and influence to stop potential changes.
..
A Pew Research Center survey in 2023 found that roughly two-thirds of
Americans don’t think the nation’s political system is doing well, with
similar numbers expressing little to no confidence in its future."
https://newrepublic.com/article/189121/unitedhealthcare-brian-thompson-shooting-social-media-reaction