this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2024
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Summary

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty criticized public outrage over the health insurance industry following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson.

In a leaked video to staff, Witty dismissed criticism as “misinformation” and urged employees not to engage with media.

Thompson’s murder outside a Manhattan hotel has intensified scrutiny of the industry’s practices, with bullet casings found at the scene bearing phrases linked to insurance claim denial tactics.

The killing has sparked debate on UnitedHealthcare’s history of denying claims, while the shooter remains at large.

Witty faces unrelated DOJ insider trading allegations.

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[–] MonkeyBusiness@sh.itjust.works 262 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

This is super tone deaf. If I were an executive, I'd be pretending I don't exist.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 106 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Ikr, people in this position are expected to be malicious, they're also generally expected to be the smart kind of sociopath.

This guy clearly has no idea of the situation he finds himself in

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 36 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Has anyone checked on him? He sounds suicidal.

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[–] QuantumSparkles@sh.itjust.works 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah I expected people like Jim to be hiding in a cave in the middle of nowhere like Bin Laden right about now

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[–] nimble@lemmy.blahaj.zone 219 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The fact that this is an internal video means at least one of your employees don't think you've learned the lesson you need to learn from this mr witty.

[–] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 171 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Witty, clearly reading from a script and dressed casually, defended his industry against accusations it refuses people vital coverage saying “we guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or unnecessary care.”

Doubling down on your lie ain't gonna help you.

[–] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 152 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

Unnecessary care

The doctor thinks its necessary. Claims handler and insurance company suddenly become medical professionals and give a second opinion of “its not necessary”.

Why even bother with the doctor? Just ask the insurance company instead.

Whats funny too - whenever the alternative is brought up (socialised healthcare), at least the conservative side of america starts seething over it, falling over themselves defending private insurance companies

[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 78 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Why even bother with the doctor? Just ask the insurance company instead.

100% this. If they know what's best for us they should open a hospital.

Do the people making these refusals have medical degrees? Those people without medical degrees actually think they know better than a doctor?

"Necessary" is a really telling word there. Is it necessary that I have pain meds? No. It's possible to go through my life in pain. It would fucking suck, but those pain meds aren't strictly necessary. Just fuck anybody and any corporation who would want you to go through life in pain.

[–] karashta@lemm.ee 56 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Same with teeth.

Sure, I can live without them but everything becomes harder and worse and there's an awful period where you could probably die from the infections as many people used to.

But those are luxury bones covered by other, separate insurance, as though it is not related to my health.

[–] scytale@lemm.ee 31 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

100%. The majority of my health concerns at the moment are my teeth, and because dental is separate, I’m spending a lot more out of pocket because the maximum coverage is so much lower.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's also a fucking rip off. I supposedly have "good" insurance options and the premiums for a family of 3 are almost $1k a year, only cover up to $2k yearly of work, and requires 40 - 65% coinsurance depending on the type of work.

So if I spend less than $2k on dental work, I lose money buying dental. The max benefit I get is from $4k of dental, and any work beyond that just makes the situation even less attractive.

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[–] ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone 162 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

It's not enough that these people steal from us and kill us, but they also insist we not criticize them while they do it.

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[–] ohwhatfollyisman@lemmy.world 117 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

if you don't like the reflection, don't blame the mirror.

[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 23 points 2 weeks ago

Oh I like this one.

[–] Level9831@lemmy.world 113 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

"There are very few people in the history of the US healthcare industry who had a bigger positive effect on American healthcare than Brian [Thompson]."

Lol you fucking shitting me? This guy's whole speech is a lie.

[–] EpeeGnome@lemm.ee 44 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

Not so much a lie as speaking from a very twisted point of view. From his perspective, making more money is the only kind of positive change. As the CEO who oversaw the highest denial rate in the industry, Thompson's leadership would of course be seen as positive by his fellow executives.

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[–] modifier@lemmy.ca 104 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

we guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or unnecessary care.

If he is going to be that far up his own ass, I hope he is at least checking for polyps.

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If a handful of people are celebrating this and the rest are condemning that behaviour then sure I might listen to this dude.

If more than 95% of the comments I’ve seen across all platforms and political leaning, then I’m afraid that society has spoken and they’ve had enough of these parasites.

Do think we will have change? No, not unless we get more people willing to do things like that hero in NYC did the other morning.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 97 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I attended many C level meetings in a publicly traded company, grateful to be out by being fired after throwing the CTO off a cliff for sexual harrassment. Yeah, those whistleblower protection documents that I had to sign were used to wipe asses.

I can guarantee you that right now many meeting are having had where people need to come up with ideas to make the company look better without doing anything that would make them less money. They'll come up with strategies where they promise to do better, probably implement a few rules that actually make it better for 6 months or so, then they'll change it to make it worse than it is today. Potential disasters are always seen as opportunities to make even more money.

Fuck these people.

I'm now a CTO myself at a private company and we do better. We pay honest wages, also for C level (as in, I don't have an insane salary or disturbing benefits), we try not to over hire, we try not to fire. I'm the first in, the last out every day. We focus NOT on lying to customers but on actually making good products, that is why people love working with us. There are companies that are working hard to do it right.

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[–] Klnsfw@lemmynsfw.com 86 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

For a non-American, his "industry" is one of the few deterrents to those considering moving to the United States (with guns and MAGA cultists)

[–] Allonzee@lemmy.world 41 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I wish I had an in somewhere else in the developed world.

Add our sociopathic work culture to the list.

[–] thatsnothowyoudoit@lemmy.ca 63 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

As someone who worked with a lot of Americans, I came to believe that some of the sociopathic work culture was due, in part at least, to the tying of medical coverage to work itself.

I saw so many peers at the stage of burnout, having to jump from one job to another without so much as a break, because their healthcare and their family’s healthcare depended on it.

It struck me that in many cases many Americans were, at least in some sense, enslaved.

If I stop working and I break my leg playing out in the snow - there’s no risk to my financial future and so I can, if needed, rest (either to recover from said injury or to recover from the mental anguish of burnout or other.)

Many of my peers did not have that luxury.

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[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 79 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm for one hoping they never catch The Adjuster.

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[–] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 73 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

There he goes again, issuing yet more denials, and denying new claims and whatnot. Thats what got them here in the first place, christ. Have they learned nothing, this is very unwitty of "Mr. Witty"

Also, can we very much continue and expand with prefacing the pos' name with the pre-nomial "$millions" they are compensated to spout their bullshit? Reminds me of congressmen being required to wear decals of their sponsors like racecars or something

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[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 59 points 2 weeks ago

Is the OTHER CEO of your company not an indication that you should probably stop your bitching?

Get the bankers out of my doctor's office, the only people who should have the authority to decide what care is necessary is the physician treating me and myself when signing informed consent forums.

[–] bloup@lemmy.sdf.org 56 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Never forget that when a business owner tells you that they put consumers first, nothing is stopping them from converting their business into either a cooperative or a nonprofit organization dedicated to the public benefit. Even if it’s the case that at some given moment, the business really is putting consumers first, there is no benefit to the consumer for the business to continue operating as a privately owned for-profit institution. The only benefit a for-profit institution provides that a cooperative or nonprofit cannot, is the power for leadership to prioritize their own interests above all other stakeholders whenever it suits them.

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[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 53 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Dear asshole, we hate everything about your industry. Signed, fucking everyone except a few other rich assholes.

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[–] RagingSnarkasm@lemmy.world 44 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 42 points 2 weeks ago

Who decides what is necessary? Ohhh... the beancounter AI full of errors, cool.

[–] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 40 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

How many CEOs does UnitedHealth have?

[–] boonhet@lemm.ee 49 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

UnitedHealth Group (this guy) vs United HealthCare (subsidiary, the guy who was killed)

Arguably the group as a whole is worse because it also includes Optum among others.

[–] MyNameIsIgglePiggle@sh.itjust.works 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well I guess it's time to continue to use your 2nd amendment rights

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[–] derpgon@programming.dev 22 points 2 weeks ago

Used to be 1, then 0, now 1 again. Hopefully back to 0 again.

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[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 33 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

hold on, the words on bullet casings part was real?

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 30 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I wonder how much this shitbird spent on private security immediately after recording this.

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[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 28 points 2 weeks ago

I can’t wait to be next in line for Mr. Bones wild ride.

[–] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 27 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Someone wanna protect us against the pressure of rich assholes and unnecessary capitalism

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[–] oldbaldgrumpy@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago

That guy can smoke a turd in hell for all i care.

[–] expatriado@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago

"not to engage with the media" video going viral eh?

[–] eran_morad@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago

Thoughts and prayers. Probably not the kind Mr. Fuckwitty would prefer.

[–] uberdroog@lemmy.world 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] OwlPaste@lemmy.world 23 points 2 weeks ago

What a fucking plonker

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Their only concern is their fealty to the bottom line. We are only the sheep to be shorn for it. Sheep aren’t supposed to fight back.

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[–] wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works 21 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It's really crazy what capitalism and a few bucks can do to people.

Someone dox him and make his life hell. He's already old, he'll get so damn cranky quick.

Obviously "a few bucks" in this case means millions, of course.

[–] SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

And suddenly the world is a lot closer to "Choom, I've got us a preem gig to flatline a corpo rat."

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