The masked gunman who stalked and killed the CEO of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies outside a Manhattan hotel used ammunition inscribed with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” a law enforcements official revealed Thursday to the Associated Press.
The words were written on the ammunition in marker, according to the official, who spoke to AP on condition that they had anonymity. Speculation about the inscriptions on his ammunition point to strategies that insurance companies are alleged to use in trying to avoid paying claims.
New details emerge about alleged gunman caught grinning before shooting UnitedHealthCare CEO
Several American law firms whose practices involve fighting for plaintiffs whose insurance claims have been denied, warn potential clients about the avoidance practice. For example, New York state law firm O’Connell Arnowitz says on its website that “too many insurance companies care more about profits than policyholders. They employ shady tactics to keep from paying legitimate claims, a practice we call The Three D’s.”
Over the summer, nearly a dozen people were arrested for protesting outside UnitedHealth Group’s headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The demonstration was organized by People’s Action Institute, which accused the company of refusing to pay for patients’ necessary health treatments.
Despite these correlations, reports New York’s Fox5, the motive behind the attack is still unknown, and it’s not yet clear if the inscriptions were intended as some sort of message from the killer.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was shot down in a dawn ambush on Wednesday, while walking to his company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
In 2022, a class action lawsuit launched by addiction and mental heath treatment providers against UnitedHealthCare was tossed out by a federal judge. The suit accused a unit of UnitedHealthcare of denying coverage for medically necessary treatments. It was later revived by a U.S. federal appeals court, reported Reuters in the summer of 2023.
Meanwhile, according to Fox Business, the company is now facing another class-action suit this month linked to the deaths of two patients who were also allegedly denied care. That class action, filed in 2023, alleges the company used an artificial intelligence algorithm to wrongfully deny coverage to elderly people for care under their Medicare Advantage health policies.
Back in Manhattan, investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from the murder scene outside the hotel. And New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Wednesday that while investigators had not yet established a motive, the shooting was not random. “Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to (be waiting) for his intended target,” she said.
Investigators believe the shooter had experience with guns. The weapon was equipped with a silencer, police told the Associated Press.
Police have offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
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