Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare’s assassinated 50-year-old CEO, expressed concerns about the company’s declining public reputation to other executives months prior to his tragic shooting in midtown Manhattan, New York City on December 4, 2024.

An anonymous source revealed to The Washington Post that Thompson was aware of the public’s growing dissatisfaction with the company’s perceived actions. He was reportedly working on a plan to better educate the public about the company’s operations.

In early 2024, Thompson urged his fellow executives to emphasize the company’s efforts to eliminate out-of-pocket expenses for crucial medicines, arguing that the average American did not fully comprehend UnitedHealthcare’s role in the country’s healthcare system.

UnitedHealthcare and its parent company, UnitedHealth Group, were facing legal scrutiny from the Department of Justice and allegations of insider trading against Thompson at the time. The company also dealt with public backlash over claims it had amassed billions by denying healthcare to sick and elderly patients.

Luigi Mangione, 26, is alleged to have shot Thompson at close range in front of a hotel in midtown Manhattan, an act police suggest was fueled by public outrage. Mangione was later captured at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized from surveillance footage by staff and customers.

Upon his arrest, Mangione was found with a 3D-printed pistol and a black silencer, loaded with a Glock magazine containing six 9mm full-metal jacket rounds. The bullets matched those used in the attack on Thompson, which had been marked with the words “depose,” “deny,” and “defend.”

‘Together with employers, governments and others who pay for care, we need to improve how we explain what insurance covers and how decisions are made,’ Andrew Witty, UnitedHealth Group CEO penned in an op-ed in the New York Times on Friday, December 13. “Each decision is based on a thorough and continually updated body of clinical evidence aimed at achieving the best health outcomes and ensuring patient safety.”

A spokesperson for the company noted that UnitedHealthcare approves approximately 90 percent of medical claims upon submission, with only 0.5 percent of denials being attributed to medical or clinical reasons.

UnitedHealthcare is now under further scrutiny following the release of internal documents that reveal plans to restrict coverage for applied behavior analysis therapy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The documents indicate that Optum, the entity managing United’s mental health benefits, plans to “prevent new providers from joining the network” and “terminate” existing ones, despite acknowledging a national scarcity of covered counselors.

Optum is also conducting detailed and lengthy clinical reviews to ascertain the medical necessity of a patient’s therapy, a process that could potentially result in denial of coverage.