The shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the complaint of the suspect charged in his murder have put the country's health care industry in the spotlight.
At the time of his arrest, Luigi Mangione was in possession of documents criticizing American medical companies as the most expensive in the world, law enforcement said.
The author also suggested that life expectancy in the United States continues to rank lower than other developed countries, saying, “They continue to abuse our country for huge profits. He is reported to have said, “This is because we are giving them impunity.''
The events surrounding Thompson's murder have sparked a national debate about the rising cost and, for some, lack of access to health care, a long-standing concern for Americans.
On average, the United States spends more than twice as much per capita on health care as some comparable high-income countries, according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and media organization.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson in New York City, leaves after an extradition hearing at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on December 10, 2024.
Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters
Researchers say health care costs are generally increasing faster than inflation, which is one reason why many Americans struggle to pay for medical care and afford medicines, even with insurance.
A 2019 study published in the journal Health Affairs found that despite higher average medical costs, Americans receive less or better health care than residents of other developed countries. It turns out there isn't.
About half of U.S. adults say they can't afford medical care, according to a KFF survey, and some have been forced to skip or postpone necessary treatments.
According to the KFF report, one in four adults said they avoided or avoided needed medical care because of price. Among uninsured adults surveyed, 61% said they forgo needed care because of cost.
The KFF study also found that approximately 4 in 10 U.S. adults report having medical or dental debt, which equates to an estimated 100 million adults. About one in five people said they might not be able to pay their debts, and about one in seven said they had been denied access to a “hospital, doctor or other health care provider” because of an unpaid bill. states.
This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
UnitedHealth Group (via AP)
Kay Pestaina, KFF's vice president and director of patient and consumer protection programs, told ABC News that the list of complaints Americans face with the country's health care system is long.
“People are happy if they have coverage, but they expect it to be available when they need it,” he said, but explained that this is not always the case.
She reports cases where patients are told that prescribed care is not medically necessary, are denied insurance coverage, have higher out-of-pocket costs than expected, or where insurance does not cover the care they need. Examples are given.
An analysis of HealthCare.gov data found that about 17% of in-network claims were denied by insurers in 2021.
Alternatively, some patients may be stuck with very high deductibles and not have access to enough money for treatments covered by their insurance, Pestaina added.
“For most people, the system is so complex that they don't have the time or information they need to solve problems,” Pestaina said.
U.S. adults owe at least $220 billion in medical debt, according to an analysis of survey data on income and program participation.
Meanwhile, insurance and pharmaceutical companies have racked up billions of dollars in profits each year.
A UnitedHealth Group sign outside its headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota, March 9, 2016.
Mike Bradley/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pestaina believes the for-profit health care system is contributing to rising prices.
Professor David Cutler of Harvard University points to several key factors contributing to the rise in costs, including administrative costs and rising prices for pharmaceuticals and hospital care.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that administrative costs alone account for up to 25% of health care costs. “The entire system is more expensive to operate in the United States than in other countries,” Cutler said.
Cutler said the ability for drug companies to set prices for their drugs without restrictions is a “premature killer” and that prices in the U.S. are higher than in other countries.
In 2020, the U.S. General Accounting Office found that the estimated prices of 20 carefully selected brands of prescription drugs were more than two to four times higher than prices in other countries such as Australia, Canada and France.
Researchers say Americans are understandably dissatisfied with these things when it comes to health care.
“You can't just press a button and the problem will go away, but you can't undo it and you shouldn't just do nothing,” Cutler said.
