Page 7 | AIBU to say I'm surprised a healthcare CEO hasn't been assassinated sooner?

Chowtime · 2024-12-05T12:44:01+00:00

Obviously what's happened in America with regard to Brian Thompson is awful but surely it was only a matter of time before someone revolted against their billionaire dollar profits and lack of payouts for individuals who've paid in for years.

HeddaGarbled · 07/12/2024 00:51

I think what's becoming obvious is they've lost the shooter

They’ll find him, probably quite soon.

CulturalNomad · 07/12/2024 00:54

izimbra · 06/12/2024 23:24

I read that half of all parents in the USA whose children are diagnosed with cancer end up declaring bankruptcy.

I wonder if this is true. As someone whose teenage son was diagnosed with leukaemia 2 years ago, I can't even begin to imagine the fear of facing losing your home on top of facing losing your child to a horrible disease. :-(

Any business model which relies for profits on people being denied healthcare is morally untenable in my view.

It's really difficult to verify claims like that. In 2022 there were approx. 380,000 bankruptcies filed in the USA. That's roughly 0.1% of the population. Even if half of that was due to medical bills (and that can't be verified) it's a tiny percentage of the number of families being treated for cancer.

Interestingly, roughly the same percentage of Canadians declare bankruptcy each year with a portion of those being attributed to medical debt. Very different healthcare system.

While nobody should be crippled by medical debt in such a wealthy country and the current model of healthcare is awash in inequities, I think Mumsnet thinks that "most Americans" carry huge medical debt and the statistics just don't bear that out.

InterIgnis · 07/12/2024 02:23

LookingForAHandHold · 06/12/2024 23:26

I think what's becoming obvious is they've lost the shooter.

A very plain, unmemorable face, and realistically from the second picture it could be a woman.

I’m not sure the shooter and the person they’ve released the photo of are one and the same.

BettyBardMacDonald · 07/12/2024 03:52

Mrsbloggz · 05/12/2024 12:58

I'm sure lots of billionaires will be feeling very nervous now.
Not that I am in any way shape or form in favor of vigilanteism but at the same time . . . he really had it coming😬

He gloried in boosting profits by causing pain, suffering and death. I can't find it in me to shed a tear.

KillerTomato7 · 07/12/2024 04:02

It’s obviously an awful thing, but given they’re a country that’s decided that the repeated massacre of schoolchildren is just the price of freedom, I wouldn’t be losing sleep over it either.

Monty27 · 07/12/2024 04:13

I can't wait to read crime thriller.
It's a dam good plot. I'm intrigued.

RawBloomers · 07/12/2024 04:26

CulturalNomad · 05/12/2024 20:56

You mean Americans think they are paying for the UK's healthcare? I'm American and I've never heard that. Usually these things stem from a misunderstanding but I have no idea what would even be misunderstood to reach that conclusion

Same here. I have literally never heard anyone say that. If you're talking about nonsense people post on Reddit or YouTube.... I think we can all agree there's no shortage of stupid on the internet!

It's definitely not a widely held belief.

It’s been discussed by several politicians and media personalities. The argument goes - high US costs for medical care, especially medication underwrite the development of new drugs and techniques that then get used by people all over the world at a lesser cost.

There may be validity to the idea that some very effective treatments would not be developed if the US didn’t pay such exorbitant prices for medical care. Drug development, especially, is significantly higher in the US. But it’s still a very contested argument and places with much lower health care costs, like Germany, also produce significantly more new drugs than the average country.

EverybodyHatesWasps · 07/12/2024 04:41

Monty27 · 07/12/2024 04:13

I can't wait to read crime thriller.
It's a dam good plot. I'm intrigued.

I'll have it on pre order faster than UHC can deny a claim.

Monty27 · 07/12/2024 04:56

EverybodyHatesWasps · 07/12/2024 04:41

I'll have it on pre order faster than UHC can deny a claim.

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Love it

IAm16StoneHalloween2024 · 07/12/2024 05:03

I wonder how many other unsolved murders there were in New York this month/year/decade.

DifferentLandscape · 07/12/2024 05:03

nfkl · 05/12/2024 15:00

There is a short story by Dino Buzzatti where suddenly, one day, the most powerful person in the world drops dead, no foul play, nothing, just dead. And the next week, the 2nd most powerful person drops dead as well, and the week after, the next most powerful person etc. etc.

In a few weeks, most of the world's problems were solved because nobody wanted to be powerful anymore ...

I often dream of this short story.

@nfkl do you know the title of the story? Thanks!

KittenPause · 07/12/2024 05:28

I had no idea healthcare was so utterly corrupt in the US till now

KittenPause · 07/12/2024 05:35

He wouldn't need to be a professional in the US because of course so many have guns so can practice whenever they like

I wonder whose next

KittenPause · 07/12/2024 05:35

I wonder who is next

Simonjt · 07/12/2024 05:43

Theunamedcat · 05/12/2024 19:04

And today a health care company announced they were stopping paying for anastasia if your operation goes longer than expected

It's like they don't value human life

To be fair I don’t think there are any health systems who pay for Anastasia.

Sandwichgen · 07/12/2024 05:56

I’’m sitting here wondering if, should the killer prove to be a bereaved parent whose child died due to health insurance decision-making, I would contribute to a fund for his/her defence. I think I would

Lowcarbonated · 07/12/2024 06:04

I'm surprised now you say it. If and when the shooter is caught they will be lauded as a hero by many. Rightly so.

Yankacrossthepond · 07/12/2024 06:33

Given the level of hate that has blossomed in this country in the last 10 years or so, it is no surprise at all. Since that time, the "Make America Hate Again" has really taken ahold. I only see things getting worse!

WatchOutMissMarpleIsAbout · 07/12/2024 07:14

Sandwichgen · 07/12/2024 05:56

I’’m sitting here wondering if, should the killer prove to be a bereaved parent whose child died due to health insurance decision-making, I would contribute to a fund for his/her defence. I think I would

I probably would also.

Interlaken · 07/12/2024 07:15

RawBloomers · 07/12/2024 04:26

It’s been discussed by several politicians and media personalities. The argument goes - high US costs for medical care, especially medication underwrite the development of new drugs and techniques that then get used by people all over the world at a lesser cost.

There may be validity to the idea that some very effective treatments would not be developed if the US didn’t pay such exorbitant prices for medical care. Drug development, especially, is significantly higher in the US. But it’s still a very contested argument and places with much lower health care costs, like Germany, also produce significantly more new drugs than the average country.

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But the obvious solution to this is to vote for a candidate who will restructure the system to the benefit of Americans.

The people voting for this are not Europeans, but those whining!

DanielaDressen · 07/12/2024 07:49

I think the shooter probably will be caught and I hate to admit it but there’s a little part of me which is hoping he gets away with it. Which I admit is not a good thing to hope for. I’ve surprised myself I think by my feelings. But the more I read about this CEO and the company the more horrified I am……he has happily overseen and endorsed the premature deaths of so many people. 🤷‍♀️

the NYPD have worked out so many things already, ie the shooter arrived in New York on a bus from Atlanta. They will follow the trail. I’m guessing they have been scouring cctv footage prior to the shooting all over the city for someone in that coat/backpack. He probably should have done a few more outfit changes, ideally in a bush in the middle of Central Park. He might have got away with it then.

ItsADampColdNight · 07/12/2024 07:57

DanielaDressen · 07/12/2024 07:49

I think the shooter probably will be caught and I hate to admit it but there’s a little part of me which is hoping he gets away with it. Which I admit is not a good thing to hope for. I’ve surprised myself I think by my feelings. But the more I read about this CEO and the company the more horrified I am……he has happily overseen and endorsed the premature deaths of so many people. 🤷‍♀️

the NYPD have worked out so many things already, ie the shooter arrived in New York on a bus from Atlanta. They will follow the trail. I’m guessing they have been scouring cctv footage prior to the shooting all over the city for someone in that coat/backpack. He probably should have done a few more outfit changes, ideally in a bush in the middle of Central Park. He might have got away with it then.

Is hoping he doesn't get caught all that bad though? I don't think I'd turn him in 😬.

I'm not happy a man has been killed though. Even if he was Satan himself in human form, I at least would feel sorry for his wife and kids and his parents if they're still alive

AtmosAtmos · 07/12/2024 08:44

I feel out of place here feeling this is utterly wrong. The way to deal with the Insurance companies is changing the American healthcare system completely.

If this person is some way fair game who else is?
Politicians elected and responsible for healthcare for a population?
CEOs of nicotine products, what about UPF food manufacturers or maybe the advertisers when obesity is soaring and has serious medical consequences?

In the UK what about the chair of the local commissioning board or the head of Nice paid multiples of the person on benefits who is refused a medical treatment?

i remember the hate towards doctors and judges in the Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans cases.

Is it just because this person is very rich it is OK?

EsmaCannonball · 07/12/2024 08:46

CassandraWebb · 06/12/2024 21:27

Yanbu. I find it astonishing people want to switch to a US style system.
I know even wealthy people in the US who have been left utterly broken by the cost of co-pays or the exhaustion of battling insurers for approval of things I was given immediately on the NHS

Aside from the stories about people with insurance being denied treatment, I personally know Americans with good jobs who have had to continue working with stage 4 cancer because they can't afford to lose their insurance or who have had to spend hundreds of dollars every single month topping up their workplace insurance because one of their children was born with disabilities.

I would also add that the very existence of the NHS in this country reins in the worst excesses of private health companies and insurers. Without the fallback of the NHS as an alternative option to private healthcare, those companies would have us completely at their mercy.

CassandraWebb · 07/12/2024 08:49

EsmaCannonball · 07/12/2024 08:46

Aside from the stories about people with insurance being denied treatment, I personally know Americans with good jobs who have had to continue working with stage 4 cancer because they can't afford to lose their insurance or who have had to spend hundreds of dollars every single month topping up their workplace insurance because one of their children was born with disabilities.

I would also add that the very existence of the NHS in this country reins in the worst excesses of private health companies and insurers. Without the fallback of the NHS as an alternative option to private healthcare, those companies would have us completely at their mercy.

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Yes same, people with my condition carrying on working when desperately ill in order to pay their medical bills. Even though rest is an important part of the remedy for Myasthenia