Brian Thompson, the chief executive officer of United Healthcare, the insurance unit of UnitedHealth, was shot to death by an as-yet unidentified assailant early Wednesday morning, December 4, according to a Reuters report.
He was preparing to enter the New York Hilton Midtown Manhattan Hotel to attend the company’s annual investor’s conference.
UnitedHealth is the largest health insurer in the U.S. The UnitedHealthcare insurance division reported $281 billion in revenues in 2023.
The New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a press conference that the shooting was probably a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack. The New York Times reports that the words “delay” and “deny” were found written on bullet casings at the scene.
NBC News quoted Paulette P. Thompson as saying that her husband told her he had been recently receiving death threats. She surmised that the motive may have been related to health insurance coverage.
Dionne Searcey and Madison Malone Kircher of the New York Times reported that Thompson’s murder “unleashed a torrent of [criticism on social media] from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives.”
The New York Times article quoted Stephan Meier, chair of the management division at Columbia University Business School, as saying the attack could send shock waves through the broader health insurance industry.
Thompson was a 20-year employee of the company, assuming his current position in 2021. Previously he worked at the accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
