A banner hanging on an overpass along the southbound lane of I-83 that reads: “Deny, defend, depose health care for all.”
Lloyd Fox | Baltimore Sun | Tribune news service | fake images
Major insurance stocks have fallen more than 6% from their closing prices last Tuesday, the day before the fatal murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth GroupThe insurance division, in downtown Manhattan.
That includes UnitedHealth, CVS Health and Cignawhich operates three of the country's largest private health insurers. Thompson, 50, led UnitedHealthcare, the largest private payer of health insurance benefits in the U.S.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting Thompson to death outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan early Wednesday last week, while the CEO was addressing UnitedHealth Group's investor day. Investigators have said Mangione was a critic of the health care industry, a view some Americans sympathized with online in the days after Thompson's death.
The behavior of the companies' shares appears to be a response to “renewed rhetoric” condemning insurers' business models, where “they end up incredibly profitable at the expense of some patients at different times of the year,” said Jared Holz, director Mizuho health center. care equity strategist, said in an interview.
He noted that it is not a new issue in the industry, which many Americans blame for rising health care costs.
“I think the response investors have had is, 'Do we want to own this category of stocks if there's going to be this renewed negative focus on the industry?'” Holz said.
UnitedHealthcare, like other large insurers, has faced lawsuits and criticism from regulators, lawmakers and patients for allegedly denying claims to maximize profits. Americans have criticized insurance companies for denying them coverage for services or treatments, unexpected bills, high out-of-pocket costs, and the dizzying complexity of managing coverage, among other issues.
While reaction toward the industry has increased since the shooting, Holz said the stock's negative reaction will likely end up being “fairly short-lived.” He added that he does not expect insurance companies to make substantial changes to their policies in response to the murder.
“Do I think companies are proactively doing anything different because of this? No,” Holz said.
Reserve photo by Luigi Mangione in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Source: PA Department of Corrections
New York prosecutors charged Mangione with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a loaded weapon and other crimes Monday night, hours after his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The New York charges followed Mangione's first court appearance in Pennsylvania on separate weapons and forgery charges.
Mangione, a private school valedictorian and Ivy League graduate who belongs to an influential Maryland family, was held without bail after his arraignment Monday night.
In a court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Mangione refused to waive his right to challenge his extradition to New York City. A judge denied Mangione bail and sent him back to a Pennsylvania prison for the time being.
At the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying handwritten pages criticizing the U.S. health care industry and singling out UnitedHealthcare, law enforcement officials told NBC News.
“I apologize for any conflict or trauma, but it had to be done. Frankly, these hangers-on simply deserved it,” Mangione wrote, NBC reported.
Authorities are still investigating the motive for the shooting, which “will come to light as this investigation continues to unfold over the coming weeks and months,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the show on Tuesday. NBC's “TODAY.” But he noted that Mangione's memo had “an anti-corporatist sentiment, a lot of issues with the health care industry.”
