Last week we read about the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in the early hours outside of his hotel. What followed that murder, and the subsequent arrest of the murderer, was curious. For some, pent-up anger and resentment toward the insurance industry created what looks like a wave of sympathy for the action. (I want to be careful here. Nobody I've spoken to has said anything that sounds like they condoned the murder. Some folks have expressed extreme views online, apparently, but that is how we've come to use social media these days. What some are calling a "wave of sympathy" may be more of a ripple, but even that is notable, because we are talking about murder.) I’m trying to understand where that wave or ripple of sympathy comes from, so please bear with me.
All of us know the frustration of spending time on a phone tree listening to a menu of options (because some of them have recently been changed) and yelling "Operator!" into our phone to little or no avail. We joke about it after the fact, but if the call is about a serious illness, it can be maddening. Some folks have had to put a procedure or prescription on hold because it was pending approval by their insurance company – a decision that is rendered when it is rendered. Too many folks have felt perpetually helpless with a process that seems to put our or our loved ones' health decisions into the hands of a nameless, faceless, voiceless decision-maker, whose cost/benefit analysis remains a mystery.[1]
If someone feels that their chronic pain, or the death of their loved one, was the result of bureaucratic red tape, it is emotionally hard to accept. And that pain can be compounded into resentment if we imagine that our best options are denied because of cost-cutting measure that benefit shareholders. I suspect this feeling of helplessness is what the “wave of sympathy” is really all about.
Meanwhile, we abhor murder. Rightly. Murder calls for our clear and full-throated condemnation. And vigilantism, while often feeling justified by anger at its inception, almost always goes off the rails once someone decides that laws no longer apply. The murder of Brian Thompson was an act of gun violence, leaving a family in mourning and forever be scarred by it. Their pain is real, anger about such violence is likewise real. Gun violence fuels its own kind of resentment.
Our challenge is to express our steadfast opposition to murder and to be sympathetic with those who have understandable resentment toward the health insurance industry. Or, to put it another way, our challenge is to condemn this murder without sounding as if we are unsympathetic toward those who feel that they live with chronic pain or that their loved one died because of callous bureaucratic red tape.
This morning, the C.E.O. of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealth Care, wrote an Op Ed in response to vitriol and threats that some folks have issued toward his employees. In it, he makes a distinction between the healthcare system, which he admits is flawed, and the persons working within that system, saying, “While the health system is not perfect, every corner of it is filled with people who try to do their best for those they serve.”[2]Judging from the folks I know who work in the insurance industry, I find this to be true. But I am not sure if vilifying or valorizing individuals within the system is the point. Resentment is built on the perception that some people carry out the system and benefit from it, while others are victims of it.
I don’t have answers here and I’m sure that persons who work in the insurance industry as well as persons who have been frustrated by it can argue that I have not adequately captured their reality. I apologize for that. The reason I need to explore this event with you is because I think it is symptomatic of much of the anger that permeates our country right now, whether it is directed toward industries like healthcare, banking, housing, etc., or entities like city councils, universities, or houses of worship. I suspect a lot of the recent attention to loneliness is rooted in a perceived lack of empathy that people feel.
This is the world to which we proclaim the salvation that comes through the birth of Christ. By attending to the complexity of our present moment, that message can bring a sharper, more poignant hope than bland annual slogans. Together, let’s lean into how the good news of great joy can find its way to those who suffer and grieve.
Mark of St. Mark
[1] In full disclosure, my own experience with these matters have been mostly inconvenient rigmarole, and my spouse takes it upon herself to handle most of these calls. Others are not so fortunate.
[2] Andrew Witty, “The Health Care System Is Flawed. Let’s Fix It,” New York Times online edition, 12/13/24.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/opinion/united-health-care-brian-thompson-luigi-mangione.html
