A Healthcare Industry CEO Is Murdered
The terror of lawlessness, on both sides of the coin.
It is terrible that United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and murdered. His family and friends loved him. His associates will miss him. At the same time, Thompson represented a powerful corporation that often rejects the best medical treatment for patients—in order to increase company profits. For an example, see Propublica’s 2023 report, “UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings.”
Every business must earn healthy profits. But healthcare insurance companies report billions in profit each year. United Healthcare led the pack in 2024, with a profit of $371.6 Billion. Of course, the healthcare industry is not the only industry that garners huge profits. Consider the fossil fuel industry, Big Banking, Big Agriculture, or the military industrial complex. They all report huge profits and commonly render detrimental harm to people and the planet. Gross inequality and global warming would not exist without the unfettered greed of large corporations.
When considering Brian Thompson’s murder, there has to be a theoretical question. Is there a connection between corporate greed and vigilante retribution? The answer is probably “yes.” And it is a fearsome answer. It reveals the terror of a lawless and uncontrollable society.
On the other hand, do powerful corporations obey the law? Mostly, yes. Except… wealthy special interest groups can change the laws they don’t like. They use political influence to rig the legal system in their favor; they lobby and bribe lawmakers. As a result, there is little effective legal recourse to their unseemly behaviors—that common sense tells us should be criminal.
It is easy to imagine that Thompson’s shooter may feel he enacted justice, which could not be achieved in any other way. Lawlessness is terrifying, on both sides of the coin.