This is probably going to sound crazy, but when they put the two photos side by side, the one on the left (where the alleged perp is smiling) looks like a woman to me. And then my brain went to “trans person denied gender transition surgery, kills CEO”. I have nothing but my own biases to speculate with, except that the smiling person in that photo looks female to my eyes, yet clearly exudes something masculine as well. Only time will tell if I’m right, but either way I 100% agree that the possibility that they’re looking for 2 ppl, whether it’s male and female, or two males, isn’t zero.
I’m not claiming this person IS a woman, just that this person strikes me as feminine, female, or whatever. I mean…if you think about it…could anything REALLY shock you these days? LOL
Thought and said the exact same thing the first time seeing that pic on the left next to the other. The cheeks, brows and eyes appeared those of a female. Could be a female as how difficult is it to squeeze a trigger and ride a bike or scooter; although in such a crowded, short distance, a bike would be faster.
NO, DON'T BELIEVE YOU'RE CRAZY AT ALL.
Must remember, Law Enforcement doesn't release all information...There is always key data points/evidence withheld and used to sift through to help determine viable contacts from cranks, etc.
I thought immediately that the smiling photo exuded a strong "SOMETHING's off" vibe, but not necessarily that it was the vibe of a mannowwoman; definitely, though, that I was looking at the smile of a crazy person ~ someone your body would instinctively be literally repulsed by (exactly like a magnet, NO cognition involved) in an in-person encounter, even one from across a road, or similar distance ... driving by in a car, whatever. It was that strong for me. (Probably the smile of a person in no way related to this murder, just a random pathologically disturbed individual who strayed under a surveillance camera, lol.)
Exactly my first impression. Thought it was his girlfriend (couple until realized it’s two different photos). In sny case, professional and well planned
Kinda hope they don’t catch him. Mostly because I like a good mystery.
Just two thoughts: If you need to find someone who’ll take 50$ bucks for wearing a jacket and backpack “as a prank” a hostel is a good place to find them.
Leaving the cellphone certainly seems like a premeditated move. The murder seems really well planned, and I totally wouldn’t be surprised if he had someone helping him.
I wonder if the person with a cup seen in front of the hotel and quickly fleeing the scene could be an accomplice. The accomplice could have provided positive identity of the CEO to the shooter and then mislead the police as to the identity of the shooter.
I hope they catch the guy, but why is it that this is getting so much attention when if it were a poor or middle class guy who was murdered nobody would give a damn?
This has caused an internet revolt and this person has become a Robin Hood, John Wick edition. Whatever reason this person killed this man, people are feeling no empathy for the victim, and hope the killer evades arrest. The reigning establishment, who secretly runs everything cannot have the majority of sheep in agreement. In my opinion, this is a smoke screen extraordinaire. Other significant things are going on at home and abroad they need to divert our attention from.
They need to Silence the Lambs to avoid future street justice, V for Vendetta style.
Americans really need to be educated on healthcare. It seems that many think that there’s a magical “Free healthcare” button that can be pressed, but those mean GOP just don’t want to.
For some reason many also seem to believe that healthcare in other countries is just amazeballs (whereas in reality, my experiences with American are that it’s really excellent.)
It’s a hard problem with no easy answers. So politicians just tinker around the edges while listening to their interest groups and make it even worse.
No, there is no free healthcare, but when they take your money and use it to pay buildings full of people who systematically deny care while at the same time, a CEO of a health insurance firm can make as much as 84 million dollars a year - think about that for a little bit. Thompson only made 10 million dollars a year, but insurance companies do have strategies to deny care, and then they also have strategies for not paying the doctors. There is a book "Delay Deny Defend: Why insurance companies don't pay claims and what you can do about it Kindle Edition by Jay Feinman (Author) available on Amazon which I learned about in reading about this murder case. A lot of times as a health professional if insurances don't pay for, say, a one-hour visit with a patient for treatment that should have been covered, if I phone to talk to them about it, they will keep me on hold for a full hour and then I'll get disconnected or re-routed to different department - I could spend two hours and not resolve it. It is easier and more profitable to just consider it "free" care and not invest more time in trying to get paid. It was not like this 30 years ago. Today, the managed care plans pay much less than what was normal 30 years ago, so a small practice has difficulty making ends meet. Here is what Amazon says about this book "An expose of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight back. Now a Kindle version of the hard-hitting original. The denial of valid insurance claims is not occasional or accidental or the fault of a few bad employees. It's the result of an increasing and systematic focus on maximizing profits by major companies such as Allstate and State Farm. Citing dozens of stories of victims who were unfairly denied payment, the book explains how people can be more careful when shopping for policies and what to do when pursuing a disputed claim. It also lays out a plan for the legal reforms needed to prevent future abuses." I just now clicked to buy this book. I have not read it yet. And I have just retired as a health professional; I am old enough to retire, and I am tired of dealing with insurance companies, and plan to do work in an entirely different profession. But anyone defending the insurance companies may not know enough about what all goes on. Some doctors have stopped taking insurance entirely, and keep the payments directly between doctor and patient. Too much to share in one comment, but I have zero sympathy for insurance executives. Ah, Thompson apparently had a brilliant plan that IF an insured called an ambulance for some trivial condition then the company would not pay but the American Hospital Association pointed out that his plan would require people to be their own doctor in that, the patient, who is not medically trained, would have to evaluate himself to decide if it was serious enough to go to the hospital, but how would he know? So, the plan was not scrapped, but was delayed. If it would have worked, maybe Thompson could have gotten 20 million a year instead of a measly 10 million. This is how they operate. Someone in my family who had insurance had bladder cancer, and the truth - his policy would not pay - they pay for all organ systems other than the urological. So he had cancer treatment and it had to be paid out of pocket because they do not treat bladder cancer. Any other type of cancer fine, but not that. It was years ago, so I don't need advice good lawyers, but I'm saying, many people if you have good health, or if you have unusually good insurance, you have no idea what patients have to deal with or how the companies make their money. They are not simply making an honest profit when they are taking healthcare money and paying their executives multi-million dollar salaries. If you and your family had repeatedly suffered from their tactics and greed, you have not defend them or have sympathy. The book is here and the title has some of the same words that were on the bullets the shooter used: https://www.amazon.com/Delay-Deny-Defend-insurance-companies-ebook/dp/B086Z2HGWM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XWOE973KRFHD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TsZOnudX7W4jJHvyoQ-RYzJPQ6zuuESs4XUodCHuBZ2jLSTcmirpqVtBTj7b0COxfRnrmLSPW0sC--xpwkq9dKGzEPAvZy1jdBAlZ_hHtmMhf2Hxi_UhoH38nyn2bcBq.Sp4DCfpxVqrgeiBoqlLrwfR_Z6I0FkF1EWatlHXKPV8&dib_tag=se&keywords=delay+deny+defend&qid=1733626981&sprefix=Deny%2C+Defend%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1
Don’t know if I’d call them sickos. The system, America just isn’t working for a lot of people, and it’s easier to blame some rando CEO than realize there aren’t any easy solutions when it comes to healthcare.
I liked how out of touch Governor Walz seemed to be. Immediately tweeting out a “thoughts and prayers, very sad!” Tweet, when HIS electorate are literally praising the murder.
Very tone deaf. As democrats all seem to be these days.
Most people are not praising the murder. Why do people think that some vocal people on social media represent an entire electorate of tens of millions of people?
Simply because it’s a high profile murder (CEO of largest insurer, caught on camera). And now the element of mystery and motive. People are shot every day. If it was a random claims processor at UnitedHealth who was murdered, it wouldn’t make national headlines.
More intriguing to me is the question: what was the motive? Was it a personal vendetta, or was Thompson about to make some major announcement that required him to be silenced? Knowing the answer leads to two very different lines of inquiry.
I have wondered similar thoughts. Does anyone know what would Brian Thompson have said, had he made it to that shareholders’ meeting? If it was something that might have upset the industry, then the bullets marked “DENY, DELAY, DEPOSE” are there to throw us off the scent. And he was in the midst of getting a divorce (how much of his apparent $450million net worth was in play there?), if I was law enforcement investigating this case I’d want to know a lot more about the divorce before ruling out the spouse.
Thompson was CEO, and he knew in advance, before it was public info, that the DOJ was launching an anti-trust investigation concerning United. When this news became public, of course the stock price went down. But, cleverly, and perhaps illegally, before the news became publicly, at least three highly placed United executives, including Thompson, allegedly sold their United Healthcare shares at a good price before the price dropped as it did when the public learned of the investigation. So, now there is an anti-trust investigation and also I believe an "insider trading" investigation. And, Thompson, as one of the alleged insiders probably knows or knew a little something about both topics. So someone who didn't want him to spill any beans silenced him with bullets bearing the message "Deny" "Defend" "Depose" - one of these words on three different bullets or shell casings that were found at the scene. So maybe they wanted to silence him and get the message out to others who may also be interviewed by DOJ, because for sure, Thompson was going to be interviewed by DOJ. There has also been some speculation as to whether possibly this was staged as a homicide but not a homicide, rather an elaborate charade to fake Thompon's death and get him into witness protection, so he would be able to testify and maybe get a plea deal? A private security firm that had previously supplied Thompson with a bodyguard pointed out that United Healthcare execs do get threats and United Healthcare does have a security team, and thus it seemed strange he would be in Manahattan without a bodyguard (especially when news sources have reported that his wife says there was a current threat against him but she did not know the details. So it is all quite a mystery, but considering the DOJ investigation, on two different issues, if I were investigating, that is the obvious place to start, and then see what can be learned about whatever can be discovered about the most recent threat that his wife doesn't really know about. Anybody at his office know? Thompson's cell phone records? Unless - they do know and he's in witness protection. Odd he had no security detail. And the message on the bullet - including "depose" suggests maybe this was about the DOJ investigation.
Just an observation- like you, I like to deer hunt and one of my clothing requirements is a full zippered jacket. Notice now the difference in the two pics. Plus it appears one has front pockets and the other does not. Simply not the same jacket between the two pics. Possibly not the same wearer either. Similar by design no doubt by either a cunning killer or the police under pressure to produce.
I'm in Alabama and Huntsville Hospital, which owns most of the hospitals in North and North Central Alabama, abruptly dropped United Health Care a few months back. Something huge had to cause that. It has nothing to do with the suspect except to say it's a bigger issue than I realized.
Well, if a major hospital chain dropped United Healthcare - I recently read in a news report an allegation that United currently fails to pay a third of their claims which is kind of a lot, and as a recently retired provider, I can tell you a lot of times these denials often appear to be not for legitimate reasons that they will refuse to pay. But maybe they dropped United because United is being investigated by the DOJ for both insider trading and anti-trust violations. Or simply that, when claims are denied and you have to spend hours on the phone on hold, being rerouted, being cut off, delayed, wrong department so it costs you too much to challenge unpaid claims..? Actually I have no idea why a hospital would drop them. Me, I'm old enough to retire and I just did, very recently; most of the reason I cannot endure another day is these insurance companies. IF I were young, I would not take insurance and I would build a healthcare practice on a cash basis - "direct care" where patient pays provider fee for service without the middle man taking his part - care can cost less and both provider and patient are treated fairly.
As to the question of whether the hospital could afford to stop doing business with their their biggest insurer - if their biggest insurer suddenly stopped paying - and United is the "biggest" health insurance corporation in the U.S. - IF they stopped paying, you would be better off not taking that brand. You could not afford NOT to cease doing business with them. In one of the articles related to the homicide, it was alleged that United has been not paying about a third of the claims submitted to them. If the hospitals are submitting claims they know to be legitimate but they are not being paid for many of these claims, which I believe could be occurring as alleged - not about that particular hospital chain, but from the news article I read and some experience on this matter - you can't afford to treat patients and have that many claims go unpaid. I don't know when or why that hospital system took that stand, to stop taking United, but this is the time of year that many people have "open enrollment" and can change plans, thus, if people want treatment and the local hospital does not take United insurance, they can pick a different brand. It will hurt United much more than the hospital system for the hospital to stop taking United, because the patients could go out and switch to Humana or Cigna or Aetna and a few others, then the patients could get care and the hospitals would get paid, if the problem is, the hospitals were not being paid. The open enrollment period and being able to change brands of insurance would apply to people on Medicare Advantage plans, and to those getting Obamacare. A lot of people can get different insurance, can change once a year in Nov-early Dec. Not accepting that one insurance brand might be a wake up call if they are having problems that could not otherwise be resolved, and perhaps lead to United making and effort to find solutions - or maybe we will see United going down the tubes when we see what comes out in the DOJ investigation in which case, the hospitals will be glad to have made the change before a potential bankruptcy etc. I did read that United's stock price dropped rather drastically right after the news of DOJ investigation became public, and then there are news reports about insider trading that allegedly occurred right before the announcement of the DOJ investigation for the anti-trust issues. Thompson who was killed was expected to be interviewed by the DOJ. So maybe someone didn't want him telling what he knew. Wife said there was a threat against him but she did not know details or wouldn't say, said she didn't know details. So there is a lot to work with, but they are not going to tell us everything.
Thanks for some context. One minor clarification but critical to some people: Medicare Advantage plans are medically underwritten, so often you can't switch. A good explanation for current or prospective Medicare enrollees is at https://www.cchfreedom.org/cchf-medicare-how-to-guide/
You absolutely CAN switch once a year during open enrollment. My patients do this. Well, I very recently retired, but I know this. My patients have had United Advantage one year, and the next it's Humana, every year they are always looking for a better deal and many get a different Advantage plan every year. You cannot change mid-year, it is only one time of year you can change. I do not recommend Advantage plans - I am on Medicare myself now, and I don't have an Advantage plan. But you can change every year during open enrollment which is in November through the first week of December, though I don't know the exact dates, so one would have to check. But- if you are very low income and are eligible for both Medicare AND Medicaid in addition, dual-eligible people can change any time they want. I did download the booklet and thank you for that information - I skimmed it just now and will read it more thoroughly a bit later. But you can change Advantage plans but only one time of year unless you are dual eligible and can change any time.
I’m just looked this up. As I am not aware of this name. Thank you sharing Ruth. I just watched a trailer for a movie about this man. Looks very interesting.
Clint Eastwood did a very good job of capturing what happened to the poor guy. Federal prosecutors will do anything to keep from admitting they were wrong. They also make terrible defense attorneys because they always work the back channels with the feds and are more sympathetic to them than to their clients. Real shame especially considering his family situation.
I thought the same, but perhaps it was not high risk (until now). An irreplaceable CEO like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk would definitely always be high risk though.
Mr Leake, everything you have said is very, very interesting & informative & I believe it more than what the NYPD are doing. You have done an amazing work with great knowledge. Thanks for your amazing writing. This looked like it was planned to NEVER find the shooter. With all the technologies we have around NYC, I am so baffled as to why that shooter still at large. It’s so sad to see a loved one killed for absolutely no reason at all, my prayers & thoughts goes out the family of Mr Thompson. It’s not easy losing loved ones in such a tragic & disturbing way. People minds the last few years have become very scary. I’m seeing that every I go, especially the vaccinated from the EXPERIMENTAL Covid jabs, people who are taking prescription drugs do not act normally. That has to be looked at, it’s been found in ALL THE SHOOTERS who have committed mass shootings all over the country. SOMETHING IS MESSING WITH THEIR MINDS.
All the side effects are ignored & not followed. It’s very sad what’s happening to peoples minds. DOJ & all the other agencies are acting very strange & they seems to be corruptions & hiding the truth & dismissing anyone who goes against their narratives.
With the mass shootings, several of them have been trans but the news does not always report that aspect. Of course, there were school shootings before anyone getting treatment to transition. But it happens that a side effect of testosterone injections can include "confusion, anger, aggression, depression, anxiety...cognitive disturbance." From the product information for Testosterone Cypionate that is provided for Canadian patients. I had seen similar information for U.S. patients but I'm not finding it now - but if a biological female was receiving testosterone injections there can be increased aggression and anger as a side effect of testosterone injections, and the disturbance of thought processes. In cases in which a biological female has transitioned via use of testosterone injections and then perhaps has written a confused illogical manifesto and shot up a school - there would seem to a be possibility that in that case the injections could have played a role. This of course does not mean that most trans people would do so but it is something to be aware of. I doubt that these potential side effects have been sufficiently studies, but they had been reported in post-marketing data collection.
However, I very much doubt that anything like this had anything to do with what happened in this case, as it would seem like there was more than one person involved, and I would be betting on this case having something to do with the DOJ investigation and not wanting Thompson to talk with DOJ, and to give a warning to anyone else to keep their mouth shut.
More than anything, I’m dismayed at the attention this guy’s murder gets. When was the last time someone got killed in NY, and bridges were closed and a national manhunt initiated? Despite the questionable morals of the victim, his murder apparently deserves more attention and manpower than that of the average Joe. Kind of pisses me off, and may be part of the reason he is getting so little sympathy from the public.
I would wonder, and we'll never know, if this murder is getting more intense investigation than the two attempts on Trump's life. Of course in the attempts on Trump's life, one shooter is dead and the other is in custody, so there is no manhunt and no actual murder. But still if there was a conspiracy to murder Trump, it would be important to be sure about who all is involved. To have a proper investigation completed which would include those within the Secret Service some of whom did not fulfill their responsibilities as they have should have.
I respectfully disagree with other commenters about the gender of the first person; he looks like he could be Arab or Eastern European, and has a shadow of facial hair. Not a rugged look, but clearly male to me.
I agree. The smiling full-face photo is a handsome man, to my eyes. Completely different person (nose, eye sockets, eyes) from the shooter photo, who I think is also male.
Good musings, all. I don't see the clumsy stumblings of some guy who can't use a gun and grabs a bike but a fairly well orchestrated plan. Time will tell, of course but I suspect all the evidence gathered so far as seeming to be cleverly planted; the water bottle, the cell phone, the back pack, even the picture. This guy/gal/group know what they're doing. Or the cops will nab him up tomorrow.
Btw: If I was the relative of some rando NU murder victim, I’d sure be pissed how much work they put into solving this particular murder, as compared to when some young gangbanger dies.
Not just how much money this guy had, but now a gazillion C-suite executives are worried and seeking security where they didn't before. New York Post online had interviewed a private security firm that in the past had provided a body guard to Thompson, and they said in an interview that they were getting a very high volume of calls from CEO's who want bodyguards now. AND these are rich guys who probably in many case have made larger than average political donations. If they complain to whoever they have helped to elect, those politicians will be interested to know that everything is being done to catch the shooter. It's not so much the fact that this was a rich guy - but - a lot of people are suddenly worried, will someone come after me, I need protection, and what is being done to catch this guy. I don't think it's totally a direct thing, but there must be a feeling that they really have to work hard to solve this - that it matters. Moreso than if it were a random drug dealer or hooker who was killed. And Thompson was intended to speak with DOJ about both potential anti-trust violations at the largest health insurance company in the US and about insider trading - which is the most logical reason for him being killed, he was supposed to talk with DOJ about potential or alleged crimes at United Health. So - it is a bigger deal than just one rich guy mysteriously being killed. A potential witness or potential criminal in a big federal investigation gets shot before he can be interviewed - they want to know who did because it's more than a homicide, it's potential witness tampering not only about Thompson but about getting others to not testify.
Is that they've posted photos of TWO DIFFERENT GUYS!
Masked guy......his jacket looks newer; and it is dark and made with a thin material.
This jacket has NO POCKETS; and has, what looks like, a black 'tag' of his (left) breast area.
UNMASKED GUY......has a faded jacket made with thicker material. And has 2 breast pockets, with what looks like a white 'tag' on the (his) left pocket flap.
Masked guy......his backpack has 'grey' straps.
UNMASKED GUY.....his backpack has a BLACK strap; IF it is even a backpack.....it could be a gym bag, since we only see 1 strap.
They are PLASTERING PHOTOS of the WRONG GUY!
And I hope that he SUES EVERYONE, that has!
UNMASKED GUY is probably 'LAWYERING UP', before coming forward. I would too!
The govt CANNOT BE TRUSTED!
We all SEE how they throw INNOCENT people in prison.
This is probably going to sound crazy, but when they put the two photos side by side, the one on the left (where the alleged perp is smiling) looks like a woman to me. And then my brain went to “trans person denied gender transition surgery, kills CEO”. I have nothing but my own biases to speculate with, except that the smiling person in that photo looks female to my eyes, yet clearly exudes something masculine as well. Only time will tell if I’m right, but either way I 100% agree that the possibility that they’re looking for 2 ppl, whether it’s male and female, or two males, isn’t zero.
Actually that would explain why “she’s” not in custody yet.
My wife and I agreed that it looks like a woman. Had not thought about the surgery aspect you mentioned
Lol, that ain’t no woman! Tranny or not.
I’m not claiming this person IS a woman, just that this person strikes me as feminine, female, or whatever. I mean…if you think about it…could anything REALLY shock you these days? LOL
I think that in the past few years, these surgeries are encouraged, not denied.
I wondered the exact same thing when I saw the “smile photo”. Very feminine.
That is what I thought - not much testosterone in that smiling face. Jacket and pack are different too.
Thought and said the exact same thing the first time seeing that pic on the left next to the other. The cheeks, brows and eyes appeared those of a female. Could be a female as how difficult is it to squeeze a trigger and ride a bike or scooter; although in such a crowded, short distance, a bike would be faster.
NO, DON'T BELIEVE YOU'RE CRAZY AT ALL.
Must remember, Law Enforcement doesn't release all information...There is always key data points/evidence withheld and used to sift through to help determine viable contacts from cranks, etc.
The Starbucks photo does look androgynous to me and I posted as much on Truth Social yesterday.
The person in the surveillance video clearly moves like a man.
Haven’t seen the video. Got a link you can post?
I also thought the last picture looked female but the face looked awkward like a false face.
I thought immediately that the smiling photo exuded a strong "SOMETHING's off" vibe, but not necessarily that it was the vibe of a mannowwoman; definitely, though, that I was looking at the smile of a crazy person ~ someone your body would instinctively be literally repulsed by (exactly like a magnet, NO cognition involved) in an in-person encounter, even one from across a road, or similar distance ... driving by in a car, whatever. It was that strong for me. (Probably the smile of a person in no way related to this murder, just a random pathologically disturbed individual who strayed under a surveillance camera, lol.)
That is EXACTLY what I thought the first time I saw the smiling picture!
Exactly my first impression. Thought it was his girlfriend (couple until realized it’s two different photos). In sny case, professional and well planned
I thought same thing. Looks female to me. Hands down too!
Kinda hope they don’t catch him. Mostly because I like a good mystery.
Just two thoughts: If you need to find someone who’ll take 50$ bucks for wearing a jacket and backpack “as a prank” a hostel is a good place to find them.
Leaving the cellphone certainly seems like a premeditated move. The murder seems really well planned, and I totally wouldn’t be surprised if he had someone helping him.
I wonder if the person with a cup seen in front of the hotel and quickly fleeing the scene could be an accomplice. The accomplice could have provided positive identity of the CEO to the shooter and then mislead the police as to the identity of the shooter.
I hope they catch the guy, but why is it that this is getting so much attention when if it were a poor or middle class guy who was murdered nobody would give a damn?
You know why. You see both the left and the right outright celebrating that a big health CEO got shot and cheering the guy on.
This obviously can not stand.
The murder really struck a nerve with regular Americans, and therefore needs to be caught and punished. Publicly and harshly.
If only they looked for the murderer of Seth rich as diligently.
That’s what I was thinking.
This has caused an internet revolt and this person has become a Robin Hood, John Wick edition. Whatever reason this person killed this man, people are feeling no empathy for the victim, and hope the killer evades arrest. The reigning establishment, who secretly runs everything cannot have the majority of sheep in agreement. In my opinion, this is a smoke screen extraordinaire. Other significant things are going on at home and abroad they need to divert our attention from.
They need to Silence the Lambs to avoid future street justice, V for Vendetta style.
Americans really need to be educated on healthcare. It seems that many think that there’s a magical “Free healthcare” button that can be pressed, but those mean GOP just don’t want to.
For some reason many also seem to believe that healthcare in other countries is just amazeballs (whereas in reality, my experiences with American are that it’s really excellent.)
It’s a hard problem with no easy answers. So politicians just tinker around the edges while listening to their interest groups and make it even worse.
No, there is no free healthcare, but when they take your money and use it to pay buildings full of people who systematically deny care while at the same time, a CEO of a health insurance firm can make as much as 84 million dollars a year - think about that for a little bit. Thompson only made 10 million dollars a year, but insurance companies do have strategies to deny care, and then they also have strategies for not paying the doctors. There is a book "Delay Deny Defend: Why insurance companies don't pay claims and what you can do about it Kindle Edition by Jay Feinman (Author) available on Amazon which I learned about in reading about this murder case. A lot of times as a health professional if insurances don't pay for, say, a one-hour visit with a patient for treatment that should have been covered, if I phone to talk to them about it, they will keep me on hold for a full hour and then I'll get disconnected or re-routed to different department - I could spend two hours and not resolve it. It is easier and more profitable to just consider it "free" care and not invest more time in trying to get paid. It was not like this 30 years ago. Today, the managed care plans pay much less than what was normal 30 years ago, so a small practice has difficulty making ends meet. Here is what Amazon says about this book "An expose of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight back. Now a Kindle version of the hard-hitting original. The denial of valid insurance claims is not occasional or accidental or the fault of a few bad employees. It's the result of an increasing and systematic focus on maximizing profits by major companies such as Allstate and State Farm. Citing dozens of stories of victims who were unfairly denied payment, the book explains how people can be more careful when shopping for policies and what to do when pursuing a disputed claim. It also lays out a plan for the legal reforms needed to prevent future abuses." I just now clicked to buy this book. I have not read it yet. And I have just retired as a health professional; I am old enough to retire, and I am tired of dealing with insurance companies, and plan to do work in an entirely different profession. But anyone defending the insurance companies may not know enough about what all goes on. Some doctors have stopped taking insurance entirely, and keep the payments directly between doctor and patient. Too much to share in one comment, but I have zero sympathy for insurance executives. Ah, Thompson apparently had a brilliant plan that IF an insured called an ambulance for some trivial condition then the company would not pay but the American Hospital Association pointed out that his plan would require people to be their own doctor in that, the patient, who is not medically trained, would have to evaluate himself to decide if it was serious enough to go to the hospital, but how would he know? So, the plan was not scrapped, but was delayed. If it would have worked, maybe Thompson could have gotten 20 million a year instead of a measly 10 million. This is how they operate. Someone in my family who had insurance had bladder cancer, and the truth - his policy would not pay - they pay for all organ systems other than the urological. So he had cancer treatment and it had to be paid out of pocket because they do not treat bladder cancer. Any other type of cancer fine, but not that. It was years ago, so I don't need advice good lawyers, but I'm saying, many people if you have good health, or if you have unusually good insurance, you have no idea what patients have to deal with or how the companies make their money. They are not simply making an honest profit when they are taking healthcare money and paying their executives multi-million dollar salaries. If you and your family had repeatedly suffered from their tactics and greed, you have not defend them or have sympathy. The book is here and the title has some of the same words that were on the bullets the shooter used: https://www.amazon.com/Delay-Deny-Defend-insurance-companies-ebook/dp/B086Z2HGWM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XWOE973KRFHD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TsZOnudX7W4jJHvyoQ-RYzJPQ6zuuESs4XUodCHuBZ2jLSTcmirpqVtBTj7b0COxfRnrmLSPW0sC--xpwkq9dKGzEPAvZy1jdBAlZ_hHtmMhf2Hxi_UhoH38nyn2bcBq.Sp4DCfpxVqrgeiBoqlLrwfR_Z6I0FkF1EWatlHXKPV8&dib_tag=se&keywords=delay+deny+defend&qid=1733626981&sprefix=Deny%2C+Defend%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1
It shows how easily it could be done.
It was a rhetorical question, but yeah you are exactly correct. There are A LOT of sickos out there…
Don’t know if I’d call them sickos. The system, America just isn’t working for a lot of people, and it’s easier to blame some rando CEO than realize there aren’t any easy solutions when it comes to healthcare.
I liked how out of touch Governor Walz seemed to be. Immediately tweeting out a “thoughts and prayers, very sad!” Tweet, when HIS electorate are literally praising the murder.
Very tone deaf. As democrats all seem to be these days.
Most people are not praising the murder. Why do people think that some vocal people on social media represent an entire electorate of tens of millions of people?
Simply because it’s a high profile murder (CEO of largest insurer, caught on camera). And now the element of mystery and motive. People are shot every day. If it was a random claims processor at UnitedHealth who was murdered, it wouldn’t make national headlines.
More intriguing to me is the question: what was the motive? Was it a personal vendetta, or was Thompson about to make some major announcement that required him to be silenced? Knowing the answer leads to two very different lines of inquiry.
I have wondered similar thoughts. Does anyone know what would Brian Thompson have said, had he made it to that shareholders’ meeting? If it was something that might have upset the industry, then the bullets marked “DENY, DELAY, DEPOSE” are there to throw us off the scent. And he was in the midst of getting a divorce (how much of his apparent $450million net worth was in play there?), if I was law enforcement investigating this case I’d want to know a lot more about the divorce before ruling out the spouse.
Thompson was CEO, and he knew in advance, before it was public info, that the DOJ was launching an anti-trust investigation concerning United. When this news became public, of course the stock price went down. But, cleverly, and perhaps illegally, before the news became publicly, at least three highly placed United executives, including Thompson, allegedly sold their United Healthcare shares at a good price before the price dropped as it did when the public learned of the investigation. So, now there is an anti-trust investigation and also I believe an "insider trading" investigation. And, Thompson, as one of the alleged insiders probably knows or knew a little something about both topics. So someone who didn't want him to spill any beans silenced him with bullets bearing the message "Deny" "Defend" "Depose" - one of these words on three different bullets or shell casings that were found at the scene. So maybe they wanted to silence him and get the message out to others who may also be interviewed by DOJ, because for sure, Thompson was going to be interviewed by DOJ. There has also been some speculation as to whether possibly this was staged as a homicide but not a homicide, rather an elaborate charade to fake Thompon's death and get him into witness protection, so he would be able to testify and maybe get a plea deal? A private security firm that had previously supplied Thompson with a bodyguard pointed out that United Healthcare execs do get threats and United Healthcare does have a security team, and thus it seemed strange he would be in Manahattan without a bodyguard (especially when news sources have reported that his wife says there was a current threat against him but she did not know the details. So it is all quite a mystery, but considering the DOJ investigation, on two different issues, if I were investigating, that is the obvious place to start, and then see what can be learned about whatever can be discovered about the most recent threat that his wife doesn't really know about. Anybody at his office know? Thompson's cell phone records? Unless - they do know and he's in witness protection. Odd he had no security detail. And the message on the bullet - including "depose" suggests maybe this was about the DOJ investigation.
Just an observation- like you, I like to deer hunt and one of my clothing requirements is a full zippered jacket. Notice now the difference in the two pics. Plus it appears one has front pockets and the other does not. Simply not the same jacket between the two pics. Possibly not the same wearer either. Similar by design no doubt by either a cunning killer or the police under pressure to produce.
I'm in Alabama and Huntsville Hospital, which owns most of the hospitals in North and North Central Alabama, abruptly dropped United Health Care a few months back. Something huge had to cause that. It has nothing to do with the suspect except to say it's a bigger issue than I realized.
Well, if a major hospital chain dropped United Healthcare - I recently read in a news report an allegation that United currently fails to pay a third of their claims which is kind of a lot, and as a recently retired provider, I can tell you a lot of times these denials often appear to be not for legitimate reasons that they will refuse to pay. But maybe they dropped United because United is being investigated by the DOJ for both insider trading and anti-trust violations. Or simply that, when claims are denied and you have to spend hours on the phone on hold, being rerouted, being cut off, delayed, wrong department so it costs you too much to challenge unpaid claims..? Actually I have no idea why a hospital would drop them. Me, I'm old enough to retire and I just did, very recently; most of the reason I cannot endure another day is these insurance companies. IF I were young, I would not take insurance and I would build a healthcare practice on a cash basis - "direct care" where patient pays provider fee for service without the middle man taking his part - care can cost less and both provider and patient are treated fairly.
Hi Connie, from Gurley!
If United is the biggest "insurer," how could the hospitals afford to do that? Was there a stated reason for the drop?
As to the question of whether the hospital could afford to stop doing business with their their biggest insurer - if their biggest insurer suddenly stopped paying - and United is the "biggest" health insurance corporation in the U.S. - IF they stopped paying, you would be better off not taking that brand. You could not afford NOT to cease doing business with them. In one of the articles related to the homicide, it was alleged that United has been not paying about a third of the claims submitted to them. If the hospitals are submitting claims they know to be legitimate but they are not being paid for many of these claims, which I believe could be occurring as alleged - not about that particular hospital chain, but from the news article I read and some experience on this matter - you can't afford to treat patients and have that many claims go unpaid. I don't know when or why that hospital system took that stand, to stop taking United, but this is the time of year that many people have "open enrollment" and can change plans, thus, if people want treatment and the local hospital does not take United insurance, they can pick a different brand. It will hurt United much more than the hospital system for the hospital to stop taking United, because the patients could go out and switch to Humana or Cigna or Aetna and a few others, then the patients could get care and the hospitals would get paid, if the problem is, the hospitals were not being paid. The open enrollment period and being able to change brands of insurance would apply to people on Medicare Advantage plans, and to those getting Obamacare. A lot of people can get different insurance, can change once a year in Nov-early Dec. Not accepting that one insurance brand might be a wake up call if they are having problems that could not otherwise be resolved, and perhaps lead to United making and effort to find solutions - or maybe we will see United going down the tubes when we see what comes out in the DOJ investigation in which case, the hospitals will be glad to have made the change before a potential bankruptcy etc. I did read that United's stock price dropped rather drastically right after the news of DOJ investigation became public, and then there are news reports about insider trading that allegedly occurred right before the announcement of the DOJ investigation for the anti-trust issues. Thompson who was killed was expected to be interviewed by the DOJ. So maybe someone didn't want him telling what he knew. Wife said there was a threat against him but she did not know details or wouldn't say, said she didn't know details. So there is a lot to work with, but they are not going to tell us everything.
Thanks for some context. One minor clarification but critical to some people: Medicare Advantage plans are medically underwritten, so often you can't switch. A good explanation for current or prospective Medicare enrollees is at https://www.cchfreedom.org/cchf-medicare-how-to-guide/
You absolutely CAN switch once a year during open enrollment. My patients do this. Well, I very recently retired, but I know this. My patients have had United Advantage one year, and the next it's Humana, every year they are always looking for a better deal and many get a different Advantage plan every year. You cannot change mid-year, it is only one time of year you can change. I do not recommend Advantage plans - I am on Medicare myself now, and I don't have an Advantage plan. But you can change every year during open enrollment which is in November through the first week of December, though I don't know the exact dates, so one would have to check. But- if you are very low income and are eligible for both Medicare AND Medicaid in addition, dual-eligible people can change any time they want. I did download the booklet and thank you for that information - I skimmed it just now and will read it more thoroughly a bit later. But you can change Advantage plans but only one time of year unless you are dual eligible and can change any time.
Are they actually looking or just trying to figure out who they want to pin it on.
not much to muse here. Based on the photos alone, the suspects acts and is dressed like a FED
Very fishy. Yes. Doesn’t look like the same guy to me. I hope they don’t accuse someone innocent.
You mean like Richard Jewell? Me, too.
I’m just looked this up. As I am not aware of this name. Thank you sharing Ruth. I just watched a trailer for a movie about this man. Looks very interesting.
Clint Eastwood did a very good job of capturing what happened to the poor guy. Federal prosecutors will do anything to keep from admitting they were wrong. They also make terrible defense attorneys because they always work the back channels with the feds and are more sympathetic to them than to their clients. Real shame especially considering his family situation.
And many unnamed others … many have been entrapped with the charge of “lying” to the FBI.
The biggest question is why the CEO of a Fortune 500 company is not protected in high risk scenarios.
I read coverage that said he often has a security detail which accompanies him, but happened to be without them that morning. Who knows ...
I thought the same, but perhaps it was not high risk (until now). An irreplaceable CEO like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk would definitely always be high risk though.
Mr Leake, everything you have said is very, very interesting & informative & I believe it more than what the NYPD are doing. You have done an amazing work with great knowledge. Thanks for your amazing writing. This looked like it was planned to NEVER find the shooter. With all the technologies we have around NYC, I am so baffled as to why that shooter still at large. It’s so sad to see a loved one killed for absolutely no reason at all, my prayers & thoughts goes out the family of Mr Thompson. It’s not easy losing loved ones in such a tragic & disturbing way. People minds the last few years have become very scary. I’m seeing that every I go, especially the vaccinated from the EXPERIMENTAL Covid jabs, people who are taking prescription drugs do not act normally. That has to be looked at, it’s been found in ALL THE SHOOTERS who have committed mass shootings all over the country. SOMETHING IS MESSING WITH THEIR MINDS.
All the side effects are ignored & not followed. It’s very sad what’s happening to peoples minds. DOJ & all the other agencies are acting very strange & they seems to be corruptions & hiding the truth & dismissing anyone who goes against their narratives.
With the mass shootings, several of them have been trans but the news does not always report that aspect. Of course, there were school shootings before anyone getting treatment to transition. But it happens that a side effect of testosterone injections can include "confusion, anger, aggression, depression, anxiety...cognitive disturbance." From the product information for Testosterone Cypionate that is provided for Canadian patients. I had seen similar information for U.S. patients but I'm not finding it now - but if a biological female was receiving testosterone injections there can be increased aggression and anger as a side effect of testosterone injections, and the disturbance of thought processes. In cases in which a biological female has transitioned via use of testosterone injections and then perhaps has written a confused illogical manifesto and shot up a school - there would seem to a be possibility that in that case the injections could have played a role. This of course does not mean that most trans people would do so but it is something to be aware of. I doubt that these potential side effects have been sufficiently studies, but they had been reported in post-marketing data collection.
However, I very much doubt that anything like this had anything to do with what happened in this case, as it would seem like there was more than one person involved, and I would be betting on this case having something to do with the DOJ investigation and not wanting Thompson to talk with DOJ, and to give a warning to anyone else to keep their mouth shut.
More than anything, I’m dismayed at the attention this guy’s murder gets. When was the last time someone got killed in NY, and bridges were closed and a national manhunt initiated? Despite the questionable morals of the victim, his murder apparently deserves more attention and manpower than that of the average Joe. Kind of pisses me off, and may be part of the reason he is getting so little sympathy from the public.
I would wonder, and we'll never know, if this murder is getting more intense investigation than the two attempts on Trump's life. Of course in the attempts on Trump's life, one shooter is dead and the other is in custody, so there is no manhunt and no actual murder. But still if there was a conspiracy to murder Trump, it would be important to be sure about who all is involved. To have a proper investigation completed which would include those within the Secret Service some of whom did not fulfill their responsibilities as they have should have.
I respectfully disagree with other commenters about the gender of the first person; he looks like he could be Arab or Eastern European, and has a shadow of facial hair. Not a rugged look, but clearly male to me.
I agree. Female never entered my mind. Lots of males have similar features.
Agree. Unless people are looking at a picture I’m not seeing. Not feminine.
I agree. The smiling full-face photo is a handsome man, to my eyes. Completely different person (nose, eye sockets, eyes) from the shooter photo, who I think is also male.
Good musings, all. I don't see the clumsy stumblings of some guy who can't use a gun and grabs a bike but a fairly well orchestrated plan. Time will tell, of course but I suspect all the evidence gathered so far as seeming to be cleverly planted; the water bottle, the cell phone, the back pack, even the picture. This guy/gal/group know what they're doing. Or the cops will nab him up tomorrow.
Btw: If I was the relative of some rando NU murder victim, I’d sure be pissed how much work they put into solving this particular murder, as compared to when some young gangbanger dies.
Yep. Not all lives are equal.
Simple answer: "Which one pays Higher Taxe$ to the system?
I didn’t know profitability was a consideration in murder investigations? 🤔
Not just how much money this guy had, but now a gazillion C-suite executives are worried and seeking security where they didn't before. New York Post online had interviewed a private security firm that in the past had provided a body guard to Thompson, and they said in an interview that they were getting a very high volume of calls from CEO's who want bodyguards now. AND these are rich guys who probably in many case have made larger than average political donations. If they complain to whoever they have helped to elect, those politicians will be interested to know that everything is being done to catch the shooter. It's not so much the fact that this was a rich guy - but - a lot of people are suddenly worried, will someone come after me, I need protection, and what is being done to catch this guy. I don't think it's totally a direct thing, but there must be a feeling that they really have to work hard to solve this - that it matters. Moreso than if it were a random drug dealer or hooker who was killed. And Thompson was intended to speak with DOJ about both potential anti-trust violations at the largest health insurance company in the US and about insider trading - which is the most logical reason for him being killed, he was supposed to talk with DOJ about potential or alleged crimes at United Health. So - it is a bigger deal than just one rich guy mysteriously being killed. A potential witness or potential criminal in a big federal investigation gets shot before he can be interviewed - they want to know who did because it's more than a homicide, it's potential witness tampering not only about Thompson but about getting others to not testify.
Forgive me if I do NOT believe KNOWN LIARS!!!
Further PROOF that they are LYING......
Is that they've posted photos of TWO DIFFERENT GUYS!
Masked guy......his jacket looks newer; and it is dark and made with a thin material.
This jacket has NO POCKETS; and has, what looks like, a black 'tag' of his (left) breast area.
UNMASKED GUY......has a faded jacket made with thicker material. And has 2 breast pockets, with what looks like a white 'tag' on the (his) left pocket flap.
Masked guy......his backpack has 'grey' straps.
UNMASKED GUY.....his backpack has a BLACK strap; IF it is even a backpack.....it could be a gym bag, since we only see 1 strap.
They are PLASTERING PHOTOS of the WRONG GUY!
And I hope that he SUES EVERYONE, that has!
UNMASKED GUY is probably 'LAWYERING UP', before coming forward. I would too!
The govt CANNOT BE TRUSTED!
We all SEE how they throw INNOCENT people in prison.