Another beautiful day here in Arizona, with the temps hitting 81 with a slight breeze. Hit the gym this morning and had my first meeting with the trainer, who already thinks I am nuts because when they asked me my goals I growled “to outlive Donald fucking Trump.” Did a bunch of upper body stuff and they were also mortified by the crunchy sounds of the cartilage and labrum but said we can fix it. So there’s that.
The big news of the day is the assassination of the healthcare CEO:
A furious manhunt was underway in Manhattan after the head of one of the nation’s largest health insurers was gunned down on Wednesday morning in what the police called a “brazen targeted attack.” A gunman lay in wait for the executive outside a hotel in Midtown, the heart of the city’s business and tourist districts, and opened fire before fleeing into Central Park, according to investigators.
Surveillance video obtained by The New York Times shows the gunman walking up behind the executive, Brian Thompson, 50, as he approaches one of the entrances to the New York Hilton Midtown around 6:45 a.m. The gunman fires on Mr. Thompson, who stumbles and manages to turn toward his assailant. The video also shows what investigators said was the pistol jamming during the shooting and the assailant quickly clearing the jam and resuming fire. Mr. Thompson collapses on the sidewalk before the gunman flees.
We of course do not know why he was targeted- could be a disgruntled customer (UnitedHealthcare is one of the absolute worst in the nation), could be failure to make crypto payments for ransomware as someone mentioned to me, or hell, his wife or a jealous lover could have taken out a hit. Regardless, his death has not elicited a great deal of sympathy from people on social media:
“The bullets were out of network.”
“The gunshot wound was a pre-existing condition.”
“Your claim for thoughts and prayers has been denied.”
And so on. Obviously murder is murder, but after fifty years of being fucked by the Gordon Gekkoization of the country, the killing of a health insurance provider is not gonna spill a lot of tears around American dinner tables. Honestly, with the rich about to spend four years on a looting spree and the few remaining regulations and consumer protections gutted, I would not be surprised if there is a lot more of this. I obviously don’t condone the execution of these people, but I can understand it.
And there’s no need to build guillotines when anyone can buy a gun.
So if this was the case that it was someone whose kid died because they were denied treatment for a curable disease, it would not be shocking, especially when you read shit like this:
In an unprecedented move, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans representing Connecticut, New York and Missouri have unilaterally declared it will no longer pay for anesthesia care if the surgery or procedure goes beyond an arbitrary time limit, regardless of how long the surgical procedure takes. The American Society of Anesthesiologists calls on Anthem to reverse this proposal immediately.
Anesthesiologists provide individualized care to every patient, carefully assessing the patient’s health prior to the surgery, looking at existing diseases and medical conditions to determine the resources and medical expertise needed, attending to the patient during the entire procedure, resolving unexpected complications that may arise and/or extend the duration of the surgery, and working to ensure that the patient is comfortable during recovery.
The greed pigs killed the concept of enlightened self interest, and now it might come back to haunt them.
That’s sad.
I expect there to be a lot of things like this and the chaos we are seeing in the world in France and Korea and Syria and Georgia and everywhere else. We are in volatile times.
Starfish (she/her)
New York Post also said dude was being investigated for insider trading after he traded before some major news came of DoJ about the company.
dmsilev
Back home after a week or so of ‘fun times’ helping dad get situated after coming home from the hospital after surgery. Worst moment was probably when he slipped and sort of slithered to the floor when trying to get up from the toilet. That needed him to inchworm out backwards into the hallway, pulling up his pants as he went, until there was enough space for me to help lift him up and grab the walker so he could support himself. If I hadn’t been there, no way mom could have done that on her own. Probably would have needed a 911 call.
We now have a better toilet seat extender, one that is floor standing and has a set of grab bars built in.
Darkrose
Obviously, gunning down people on the street is bad.
That said, my thoughts and prayers are out of network. I hope other CEO’s are feeling nervous. When you close off any legal avenues of accountability, people will go outside the law.
Ryan
I’m just surprised the CEO of a health insurance company wasn’t surrounded by Good Guys (with guns).
Steve LaBonne
@Darkrose: You summarized my feelings better than I could.
A Man for All Seasonings (formerly Geeno)
Personally, I hope it was someone who was denied mental health coverage. That just seems appropriate.
Poe Larity
I always thought old people with walkers wearing suicide vests would become a thing.
Central Planning
I heard he didn’t get pre-approval for the ambulance ride.
BethanyAnne
Turn the US into a low trust “fuck you I’ve got mine” casino, and reap the whirlwind.
jefft452
2nd Amendment remedies
Maxim
@A Man for All Seasonings (formerly Geeno): I don’t. People with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence than its perpetrators, and the last thing they need is further stigmatization.
Lyrebird
Hate them I hate them… I am so glad I chose something else.
Surgery from what little I know generally goes long becase
a) the surgeon noticed another problem that would complicate recovery AND/OR
b) the patient is having a rough time
Every anesthesiologist I have ever dealt with has been so careful, so professional, so clear about the life and death nature of what they do. Incomprehensible.
Quinerly
@Ryan:
Good one. Thanks for the chuckle.
Suzanne
This assassination is another thing that I can’t muster up any fucks about. I wish we didn’t live in a society in which there is no justice except for vigilante-style, but having said that….. meh.
Jackie
@Lyrebird: I’m visualizing the Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO or spouse having surgery and the surgery outlasts the allotted anesthesia time…
I can hear the screams of pain clearly. I have no sympathy. Not one iota.
Suzanne
@dmsilev: Ooof. I’m sorry.
One pro tip: make sure that any bathmats they have in the bathroom have a rubber backing, or some other kind of grippy backing. Apparently it is very common for older people to slip on these mats. Ex-Mr.-Suzanne’s grandma broke her arm on the edge of the tub in such a fall….. you step on the edge of the mat and it slips and lose your balance.
Actually, all rugs are a hazard if your foot can catch on them.
Elizabelle
@Suzanne: I know. I am wondering if this guy will become the executive equivalent of Peanut the Squirrel.
I do not mind the idea of Masters of the Universe quaking in their boots.
mrmoshpotato
@A Man for All Seasonings (formerly Geeno): Deleted after further reading.
Lyrebird
@Jackie: I’m not the visualizer type, won’t ill-wish, but anyhow, in addition to the awful cruelty of the policy you highlighted, it’s also fcking stupid because if the surgery gets messed up bc the patient writhes, they’re more likely to have to do ANOTHER SURGERY if they don’t die…
Gretchen
I’ll be interested to hear how they fix the crunching because my shoulder crunches too.
mrmoshpotato
I hope the fuckers who made this decision go under the knife with an anesthesiologist who isn’t paying careful attention.
Oops! Does that hurt? Fuckers!
ETA – I see Jackie and I are kindred spirits on this.
coin operated
@Lyrebird:
My BIL’s cancer surgery falls into this category. There are fantastic diagnostic tools available, but until you get in there, the surgeon is still operating under “best guess” based on the info he has. BIL’s surgery was scheduled for 9 hours…it went to 18 after discovering that the cancer had metastasized to several surrounding tissue but not yet detectable.
To put a hard limit on anesthesia would have seen him sewed up with metastatic cancer still floating around.
Balconesfault
One reason I’ve long given when discussing why a strong social safety net is important – and taxing the wealthy to provide that safety net is necessary – is safety.
I traveled extensively for work across the US during my career – and one luxury I had was being able, pretty much anywhere I worked, going out for a run from my hotel without fear of being kidnapped and having various body parts sent back to my loved ones until they forked up a ransom.
This luxury doesn’t exist in a lot of countries where the wealth disparity is immense, and there’s little or no social safety net.
Project 2025 is promising to make us a lot more like those countries where it’s not safe to be middle class or above.
narya
Apparently the anesthesia thing is more about the anesthesiology cartel than the health insurance company, if Bluesky is correct. The company is using the CMS guidelines, not cutting off anesthesia midsurgery.
dmsilev
@Suzanne: Yeah, we replaced the bathmat as well. That was proactive, on the advice of the PT therapist.
Michael Bersin
Missouri. I just can’t anymore…
Tragedy, then quickly, to Farce
We’re sending America our finest.
dm
This showed up on Mastodon a few days ago, but it’s enjoying new currency in light of today’s events:
https://mastodon.sdf.org/@errant/113596790682698903
Bill Arnold
The “Our leadership” page on the UHC website now points to their home page. No bios/pictures available.
Panicky, a bit, they are. :-)
https://www.uhc.com/about-us
Here they are from the Internet archive
Quinerly
This nominee for IRS Commissioner sounds like a real winner. An auctioneer and a AM talk show host from Missouri with a high school diploma (he will be replacing a guy with 3 degrees from Duke, UNC, and Cornell). Failed out of college. Went to auction school. Obviously no background in tax. Brief stint in the House…tried to go after the Humane Society and the Clinton Foundation’s NFP statuses.
Google Billy Long. Long is a close friend of Tucker Carlson’s. (James Carville said and has written that Carlson is the main one coming up with these appointment suggestions. And, yes, I know how most of you feel about Carville. I still find this interesting).
So much of this Trump shit is flying under the radar.
“Billy brings 32 years of experience running his own businesses in Real Estate and, as one of the premier Auctioneers in the Country,” Trump tweet
Kay
@Balconesfault:
True. Absolutely underappreciated.
Bill Arnold
From 2023: UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges – For the largest health insurer in the US, AI’s error rate is like a feature, not a bug. (BETH MOLE – NOV 16, 2023)
Kay
@Quinerly:
What a shame.
p.a.
File under: corporations pay attention to election results.
Kay
My (grown) children are not happy this poor man was killed but they’re all amused at the blanket news coverage. I guess CEO’s are much, much more valuable than everyone else.
This country worships rich people. Its gross.
Leto
@Bill Arnold: I remember a movie that detailed out the claims process with 100% accuracy. Part 1 and part 2.
Leto
@Kay: From Imgur:
A CEO gets shot and the resources and media they spend to find a suspect they have zero info on, in a city with daily gun deaths really shines a light on the disparity between the wealthy class and everyone else. We are not all covered by the same justice.
dm
@dm: This is maybe a faster link: https://www.reddit.com/r/lostgeneration/comments/huils8/i_love_a_graph_thats_dropping_a_hint/
(It’s a comparison between income distribution in today’s US and pre-revolutionary France.)
dm
@Ryan: I’ve heard the CEO was no angel.
Quinerly
@Michael Bersin:
Looks like we are on the same page.
I loved my almost 40 years in St. Louis….my old law school (Saint Louis University School of Law), my first neighborhoods (Midtown/Central West End), and my old neighborhood from 1984-2022 (Soulard)….but would cringe when I had dockets and cases in St. Charles, Franklin, Jefferson and out lying counties like Greene….I traveled the state in the late 1980’s as low woman on the totem pole in a firm that took in cases all over the state. Don’t get me started about 2 days in Stoddard County in 1993.
With all that said, very glad to now live in a Blue State. The state that once gave us Tom Eagleton is now an embarrassment. I gotta figure out when I trek back how to piss on old Rush’s grave in Bellefontaine Cemetery. Will wear a long skirt. And my oldest pair of Tony Lamas.
Kay
@Leto:
No, we are not all covered by the same justice. Or any justice really.
“CEO down! Mobilize the country!” Its embarrassing.
NotMax
If he hasn’t already, Dolt 47 will blame it on an undocumented immigrant.
Quinerly
Hegseth was telling senators today that if he gets the job he won’t ever drink again.
No reporting on whether if he gets the job, he promises not to rape again.
mrmoshpotato
@Quinerly: Both will happen again. On a sidenote, I wonder how shitfaced the blackout drunk college rapist on the Supreme Court gets these days.
Leto
@Kay: George Zimmerman, from the Suit Warehouse, issued a statement.
bluefoot
@Leto:
Hey, that’s not fair! If it had been a Black fare jumper you know the NYPD would be out in force!
prostratedragon
@dm:
I happen to be re/reading some of Piketty’s work on the long-term causes and effects of wealth inequality. Looks like a good overview based on French history is Capital and Ideology, also adapted to graphical novel form (goodreads link). Even the first, Capital in the 21st Century, is surprisingly readable for a thick book on economics.
Michael Bersin
@Quinerly:
Allow me to suggest a slightly more dangerous and more satisfying target. Think of it as a worthwhile challenge.
His bronze bust in the “Hall of Famous Missourians” in the capitol in Jefferson City.
Last time I looked it was the only bust in the capitol with 24/7 video surveillance. Because, you know, reasons…
Quinerly
@mrmoshpotato:
Hegseth apparently was whining in an interview on Fox that some senator today told him in private that he was being “Kavanaughed.” And to remember that Kavanaugh fought back and won.
I wonder if it was Lyndsey Graham. As I recall he got pretty shrill and emotional about Kavanaugh….to the point of tears.
Quinerly
@Michael Bersin:
But…..I’m a lady…….
sanjeevs
@Kay: This guy will be caught very quickly. Whoever planted 2 pipe bombs in the center of the capital is still at large four years later.
evodevo
@dmsilev:
Just went through a knee replacement…those self-supported toilet frames are a life saver. There is no way I could have managed without one…
Jeffro
so many on-point quips in this thread! I always knew I was surplus to requirements in general (and now this thread specifically)
also LOLOLOLOL
Michael Bersin
@Quinerly:
And you’d become legendary in the resistance.
YY_Sima Qian
More evidence of the coalescing Venn diagram of ethno-nationalists, oligarchs, tech-bros & natsec hawks around Trump, leveraging a new Cold War to advance their varied agendas:
RandomMonster
When you make $23M a year you really don’t give a shit about your own personal medical costs.
Jo Jo las Orejas
@Michael Bersin:
pero si mi Mamá está encarcelada ¿quién cuidará de mí?
Quiltingfool
@Darkrose: Reminds me of a Gotham episode. Rich or connected men committed crimes which were not prosecuted. They were killed in a very unusual way (weather balloon, death from high altitude, etc.). The killer did the job of punishment as the law would not.
Detective Jim Gordon said (paraphrase) “When people see the justice system does not hold criminals accountable, they will take the law in their own hands.”
We may see this happen more and more.
Jo Jo las Orejas
Deleted
Jeffro
@YY_Sima Qian: “he’s calmer, more settled, and so I am reasonably confident that I’ll be able to continue paying no taxes whatsoever, which benefits ev…er…me. Just me, actually.”
mrmoshpotato
@Quinerly:
Graham was a shouty, insincere pile of shit at Kavanaugh’s Senate hearing. They can both fuck themselves.
I still wonder what Dump has on Graham to make him turn into a kissass.
Jackie
@Quinerly:
In other words, he’s still getting shitfaced nightly?
That “IF” is very telling…
Tenar Arha
Hey John, glad to hear it’s going well.
Seems the Anesthesiologists’ association is maybe not completely open about why there’s new pricing rules. There’s a new “No Surprises Act” that defines standards and prevents bill padding via out of network shenanigans. Here’s a post on Student Doctor Net, and some are complaining about the new rule. (h/t for the info someone on bluesky who didn’t want their posts off network),
frosty
@dm: Oof! The US wealth distribution is worse than pre-guillotine France???
Michael Bersin
@Jo Jo las Orejas:
καὶ τί δὲν κάνατε γιὰ νὰ μὲ θάψετε
ὅμως ξεχάσατε πὼς ἤμουν σπόρος
Leto
@frosty: Reward them for the world they created.
Quinerly
@mrmoshpotato:
I am convinced Trump has something on Lyndsey. And I have a pretty good guess about what it is.
mrmoshpotato
@RandomMonster:
Especially when insured by the insurance company that you run.
cmorenc
My daughter is an M.D. anesthesiologist out in Colorado – so not among the states immediately impacted by Anthem BCBS’s limits on operation duration during which they will cover anesthesiology services – but I will be visiting her for several weeks in January, and doubtless this will come up in conversation. The surgeon is the main driver of how long a surgical procedure takes, far more than the anesthesiologist, so a health insurance company trying to put a squeeze on costs of a particular operation taking longer than the expected average norm is going about this in a very perverse way. If they are doing this because they suspect too many anesthesiologists are excessively padding their time sheets – that can be cross-checked againt the surgeons and hospital operating room schtedules. Hospitals are highly motivated to efficiently use operating room space and time, because time really is money in sustaining the cost of running the ORs, and would have a vested interest in why too many procedures are running over the expected average duration for that type of procedure.
mrmoshpotato
@Quinerly: Go on..
Raflw
I’ve seen a number of comments on Bsky that what BCBS is planning is in line with Medicare, and the claim that anesthesia will be an insurance decision is being driven by the anesthesia lobby, who want to avoid being tamped down.
Right now, the practice group that most often ends up with “surprise bill” out of network charges to patients is … anesthesiologist.
So, YMMV on the tempest.
cmorenc
@Jackie: Many of y’all commenters about the Anthem BCBS anesthesiology time limit coverage speak as if the anesthesiologist will walk out of the OR the moment the insurance-coverage limit is reached, e.g. 1.5 hrs. That’s not going to happen – instead, the patient will get stuck with the charge for any additional time, and if the patient is unable to pay that out of pocket, the anesthesiologist gets stiffed for the extra time. Or, if the anesthesiologist is actually in an arrangement where they are paid by the hospital and it’s the hospital that gets paid by the insurance company, the hospital will get stiffed (and they will have to incrementally charge the rest of us a bit higher rates to make up for it).
Quinerly
@Jackie:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/hegseth-vows-to-stop-drinking-alcohol-if-confirmed/
Raflw
@Quinerly: As someone in long term recovery, that bargaining Hegseth is doing will probably last one to three days. A week or two if he’s really got will power.
I’m not going to diagnose him, but if he showed up to work multiple times at Fox reeking of alcohol, he will not be able to control that beast. There’s a ton of AA meetings in D.C. he could try, though.
cmorenc
@Quinerly:
Every time I think it would be impossible for Trump to top the sheer awfulness of his list of nominees, he says “hold my beer” and tops is.
Gloria DryGarden
@Lyrebird: it’s such a good point. An anesthesiologist explained to me that there are 3 components: paralysis, not feeling sensations, and memory blocking. You can’t just stop anesthesia in the middle.
like you, I don’t ill wish, but I sure hope when these situations touch them personally, that they take note.
Roberto el oso
@Quinerly: If the thing that Trump has is proof that Graham is a semi-closeted gay man, isn’t that already well known, or so well-supposed that it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it was confirmed?
Chetan Murthy
@mrmoshpotato: I remember before the ACA, there was a case where the teenage daughter of an HMO CEO got injured somehow, and the CEO was very clear to the doctors treating her that no expense should be spared, none at all. Which …. was quite different from what HMOs did routinely for their clients.
Roberto el oso
One of the more infuriating stories I’ve heard related to the Texas Med Center (Houston) is that very large contingents of the Saudi Royals would come annually and receive full physicals (and any treatments they needed) and all of it was done for free. At the end of one visit one of the Princes (who had come with an entourage of several dozen for their physicals) was diffidently approached and asked if perhaps he might wish to make a donation. He immediately had one of his flunkies write out a check for $25.00.
Jackie
@Quinerly: I “assume” he hasn’t stopped drinking. I’d love it if TCFG demanded Hegseth be tested for an alcohol test daily. But legally that’s not happening.
hells littlest angel
@Poe Larity: Just wait a few years.
BQuimby
@Suzanne
Why the breathless and endless media coverage for some scummy CEO asshat? Why not the same reward amounts posted, police attention, personnel assigned to this, esp w/sophisticated DNA and related immediate forensic analysis? What is the line for all this, just so we know…race, income, title… I crack myself up. I already know, as just a nothing burger hundredaire, most of us are not worthy.
Martin
@Quinerly: If confirmed? Aren’t we basically then admitting that we’re confirming an alcoholic to the job, who isn’t so committed to not being one that he’s bargaining with it? This fucker isn’t going to quit.
HumboldtBlue
@Quinerly:
This is why we read this blog.
trollhattan
One small favor granted one month post-election.
Before you shed any tears for herr Duarte, this is from 2017.
Doug
A salutary reminder that insurance that actually insures, high taxes on millionaires and above, and other features of the modern state — that is the compromise, and there are other options available.
YY_Sima Qian
@Doug: Here in E. Asia, when people heard about the public assassination of the CEO of United Healthcare, the parallel that springs to mind is the assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe (protest against the decades long close association of the LDP establishment w/ the kooky Unification Church, a.k.a. the Moonies):
The public response to the assassinations have some parallels, too (screen caps through the link):
Ruckus
For the insurance company the entire process comes down to “Did we lose money.”
I’m not for allowing them to be shot, it’s just that the points of view are diametrically opposed.
For the consumer the entire process is like a 75 car train full of bullshit. I’ve dealt with healthcare insurance as an employer and as a consumer. I repeat my first sentence. I know that the system is broken and has been for my lifetime. Companies want/need to make a profit. A healthcare insurance company has to go on statistics to decide costs. But it is in deciding costs, but not controlling them (they can’t). So what we have is one side delivering a service – healthcare. And the other side is supposed to be figuring out how to pay off for the providing of healthcare. But they can’t control the cost and all of us need some level of health care so while it likely shouldn’t be a total problem, the better health care becomes (and it massively has in my lifetime) they can’t control the cost or make any decision about individual needs. It is a merry go round that explodes on occasions – like now. All the insurance companies can do is set limits on payout against costs that they have zero control over and charge what is a profitable price. It is a lose, lose, lose situation that often does not work – not in any way, shape or form. None of us know how much healthcare we will need but we do know that we will likely need it when we can’t pay for it, or we won’t need any and are pissed about paying so much.
And no, I do not have any answer whatsoever. But if all of this is going to work we better come up with something. Because it isn’t going away, it won’t get cheaper, and it will be/is absolutely necessary.
Rugosa
@dm: Bravo!
Chris Johnson
I had an exchange (responded to something) on Bluesky:
I feel like while this is idealistically correct, we’ve got so far to go to be IN a civilized society that it’s rude to act surprised. You don’t get to handwave that part. My question is, who is working against being civilized? And, well… sort that out and we can talk ‘appropriate consequences’.
So yeah. We have civilized society to build. It is not okay to assume that we have one. That’s gaslighting or straight up enemy action, to narrativize that way. We absolutely do not have civilization, and we can build it in known ways.
Betty
@Lyrebird: I wonder if the state insurance commissioners could take action on something like this. I know the level of regulation varies. Does David Anderson have any info on this?
villiageidiocy
In regards to the targeted murder of the CEO – this is an interesting read:
https://www.jphilll.com/p/whats-a-life-worth
“What we’re called to ask is why the murder of one man must be described as unspeakable violence, but the systemic denial of life to 100,000 people is an acceptable business practice.”
Old School
@villiageidiocy: That’s a good essay. Thanks for sharing.
Ruckus
@villiageidiocy:
@Old School:
I agree that it is a very good essay.
It shows that in so many cases money is far more important to some than human life. This man that ran a company that made/makes money from at least in part denying payment for care that people are paying for. We, and not even all of us, get old and slow down and retire and yet many live longer than they used to. And that is due to many factors but one of them is obviously not always that people actually had health care insurance. Which is supposed to pay for their HEALTH CARE. And the CEO is making 10 million a year? By overcharging and under paying? Somehow this does not seem correct.
Paul in KY
@Maxim: It would be ironic, though.
Paul in KY
@Roberto el oso: He may have some really icky pics (provided by Putin).