Grim memes and jokes are getting shared across social media after an executive at a major health insurance provider was shot and killed in New York City on Wednesday.
Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division, was gunned down outside the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan just hours before the firm was set to hold a conference at the hotel.
Police sources, according to the New York Post, said the shooting looked to be a targeted attack and that Thompson, who was shot in the chest by a masked man who fled on a bicycle, died shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital.
The shocking news was met with a wide array of reactions online, including dark humor from those critical of the health insurance industry.
One poster used the tragedy to sarcastically question whether Thompson had any issues receiving treatment due to insurance companies.
“My only question is did the CEO of United Healthcare die quickly or over several months waiting to find out if his insurance would cover his treatment for the fatal gunshot wound?” he wrote.
“I hope the ceo was on the phone with his insurance before getting in an ambulance to make sure the ambulance and the hospital was in network,” one meme read.
“Unfortunately, his insurance plan only would’ve covered shootings in Midtown *after* 7am and before 6pm, and does not cover risky behaviors including but not limited to being a health insurance CEO,” joked a user on Bluesky about the confusing stipulations many plans have.
“[insurance CEO bleeding out on the sidewalk] wait a second my deductible is how much??” added another.
A number of posters cited recent news that Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield wouldn’t automatically cover anesthesia for surgeries that ran long.
“Huh why would someone shoot the CEO of a health insurance company” said a response.
Images of Yeonmi Park, a North Korean defector who became a meme for detailing the atrocities of leader Kim Jong Un’s regime, were also used to mock the state of healthcare in America.
“In United States, when a healthcare CEO is assassinated, everyone laughs,” the meme said.
Some users ultimately held their tongue, while still letting their feelings on the matter be known.
“Im about to say some OFF SHIT about a major health insurance CEO being murdered in the streets,” user @LZatYT added.
So far, no arrests have been made and a suspect has not been identified.
Thompson’s wife, Paulett, has since revealed in comments to NBC News that her husband had been receiving threats prior to the attack.
“There had been some threats,” she said. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
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