Our family paid medical “insurance” companies the equivalent of a luxury car we couldn’t ourselves EVERY YEAR for WHAT? We didn’t get any peace of mind because we don’t know what our part of any medical bills will be until we get the bills!
Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. and most of those people HAD MEDICAL “INSURANCE”.
I am so sick of buying these aberrant, pathologically greedy, anti-social creeps a luxury car every year for nothing but headaches, heartaches, grief and - make no mistake, people in the U.S. choose death!
They use their ENORMOUS power and money to own congress and brainwash us into a trance where we believe (falsely) we have the best healthcare in the world (actually our outcomes are not great, we just pay the most), or that you have to wait for healthcare in other countries with their universal care.
WE have to wait! I know people in France and Canada and one person in each of those countries with cancer (as well as several people here with cancer). They triage urgent care to the front. The difference is you don’t have to worry about a penny there. And their care is comprehensive including regular therapy for emotional support.
Here people worry if they are worth the cost their family will take on and they don’t know what the bills will even be until later, and they owe even if they die.
Medicare for All is smart policy because it streamlines costs and is more efficient.
And instead of feeding the pathologically greedy rich, it is a social solution.
Don’t worry, when people have access to healthcare they don’t go to the doctor too much, they just go to the doctor.
Other countries have it, why can’t we, American Exceptionalism?
Unfortunately, the state will always protect itself. There are hundreds of people who die every day who don't get the same kind of manpower to find their killers, or their deaths are normalized (such as with health insurance denials). This is America, and this is why we need to fight this injustice.
Two black holes in our free enterprise capitalistic system are health care and privatized incarceration. Both incentivize profit at the expense of life, justice, and uncalled for suffering. Change can come about if leadership controls lobbying and monopolies. That other democracies have better solutions that we could try is an inspiration. The CEO of a company makes decisions that cause the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands. He would be alive and still rewarded for running a profitable company if he hadn’t been shot by a man who suffered from the system. Prior to his death, he operated with impunity. His killer now faces the consequences of the “justice system.” We have an opportunity now to begin phasing in universal healthcare. Let’s remember that in November.
If Luigi didn't admit to killing Brian Thompson, the prosecution may have lost the case. They only had circumstancial evidence as far as I know. But him admitting it is also taking responsibillity. If he had murdered Brian Thompson and not admitted to it, what purpose would that serve? Revenge. This is more than revenge.
I agree that serious problems in our healthcare system deserve serious scrutiny and accountability. Where I part company with this essay is in any framing that seems to soften the moral responsibility for murdering another human being.
When people feel threatened, powerless, angry, or deeply wronged, our most primitive instincts can make retaliation feel justified. But feeling justified is not the same as being morally justified. If fear and anger become permission to harm another person, we simply perpetuate the same cycle we claim to oppose.
We can challenge systems, demand accountability, and fight for change without surrendering our humanity in the process. For me, intentionally killing another person cannot become acceptable simply because we believe the grievance behind it is legitimate.
* “UnitedHealthcare AI rejected 90% of claims” — FALSE. The 90% figure refers to an alleged 90% error rate among certain AI-generated denials, not 90% of claims being rejected.
* “59% of Republicans want universal healthcare” — FALSE. The cited Pew survey found 59% of Republicans said government should not be responsible for ensuring healthcare coverage.
* ”$7.3 billion overcharged cancer patients” — MISLEADING. The FTC’s $7.3B figure concerns PBM revenue above estimated acquisition costs for specialty generic drugs. It was not $7.3B directly overcharged to cancer patients.
* “UnitedHealthcare denies 32% of claims” — MISLEADING. The 32% figure comes from a limited claims dataset, not all UnitedHealthcare claims nationwide.
* ”$700 million annually from HELL corporations lobbying” — MISLEADING. The ~$700M figure covers the healthcare industry broadly, not simply health insurers, and comes from a specific year’s spending.
* “Every developed country has zero medical bankruptcies” — UNSUPPORTED. Other wealthy countries generally provide much stronger financial protection, but “zero” is an unjustified absolute.
* Biggest error: The post converts a modeled estimate of potentially preventable deaths under a hypothetical healthcare system into a literal death toll and then assigns those deaths to insurance-company executives. The Yale study does not support that causal claim.
My friend of 40+ years has had multiple brain bleeds and a stroke that has left her paralyzed on one side. She also has Medicare Advantage through Humana. Because she has a tracheostomy tube(?) in her throat *and* needs physical therapy - especially in these early months - only one location in her region can deal with her rehab. The others have already denied her because they don't have the capability to provide rehab and deal with the trach. Humana has refused both initially and on appeal (Medicare rules say that MA plans have the leverage, not them), saying that the hospital can provide PT - which they have already said they cant.
Her cousin and 85 year old brother fly into and out of town to deal with stuff, and local friends help. I do what I can from Europe, where I moved for exactly these kind of reasons - hubby disabled, me a cancer survivor. We've spent years in litigation against HELL corporations, and I get twinges of panic having to deal with this again. None of us know what to do, so we brainstorm online. I might have to fly back to help, but without a clear plan I'm not sure what I would do.
Free Luigi!!!
Our family paid medical “insurance” companies the equivalent of a luxury car we couldn’t ourselves EVERY YEAR for WHAT? We didn’t get any peace of mind because we don’t know what our part of any medical bills will be until we get the bills!
Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. and most of those people HAD MEDICAL “INSURANCE”.
I am so sick of buying these aberrant, pathologically greedy, anti-social creeps a luxury car every year for nothing but headaches, heartaches, grief and - make no mistake, people in the U.S. choose death!
They use their ENORMOUS power and money to own congress and brainwash us into a trance where we believe (falsely) we have the best healthcare in the world (actually our outcomes are not great, we just pay the most), or that you have to wait for healthcare in other countries with their universal care.
WE have to wait! I know people in France and Canada and one person in each of those countries with cancer (as well as several people here with cancer). They triage urgent care to the front. The difference is you don’t have to worry about a penny there. And their care is comprehensive including regular therapy for emotional support.
Here people worry if they are worth the cost their family will take on and they don’t know what the bills will even be until later, and they owe even if they die.
Medicare for All is smart policy because it streamlines costs and is more efficient.
And instead of feeding the pathologically greedy rich, it is a social solution.
Don’t worry, when people have access to healthcare they don’t go to the doctor too much, they just go to the doctor.
Other countries have it, why can’t we, American Exceptionalism?
My heart breaks for Luigi.
They don't want to reduce spending for the rest of us though. They look at that as $1 trillion in lost profits.
Fuck the guy on the right and more of the left!!!!
Unfortunately, the state will always protect itself. There are hundreds of people who die every day who don't get the same kind of manpower to find their killers, or their deaths are normalized (such as with health insurance denials). This is America, and this is why we need to fight this injustice.
Luigi did nothing wrong.
32% denial rate in claims, too.
Two black holes in our free enterprise capitalistic system are health care and privatized incarceration. Both incentivize profit at the expense of life, justice, and uncalled for suffering. Change can come about if leadership controls lobbying and monopolies. That other democracies have better solutions that we could try is an inspiration. The CEO of a company makes decisions that cause the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands. He would be alive and still rewarded for running a profitable company if he hadn’t been shot by a man who suffered from the system. Prior to his death, he operated with impunity. His killer now faces the consequences of the “justice system.” We have an opportunity now to begin phasing in universal healthcare. Let’s remember that in November.
That’s really important. Health insurance companies need to be held accountable!!
If Luigi didn't admit to killing Brian Thompson, the prosecution may have lost the case. They only had circumstancial evidence as far as I know. But him admitting it is also taking responsibillity. If he had murdered Brian Thompson and not admitted to it, what purpose would that serve? Revenge. This is more than revenge.
I agree that serious problems in our healthcare system deserve serious scrutiny and accountability. Where I part company with this essay is in any framing that seems to soften the moral responsibility for murdering another human being.
When people feel threatened, powerless, angry, or deeply wronged, our most primitive instincts can make retaliation feel justified. But feeling justified is not the same as being morally justified. If fear and anger become permission to harm another person, we simply perpetuate the same cycle we claim to oppose.
We can challenge systems, demand accountability, and fight for change without surrendering our humanity in the process. For me, intentionally killing another person cannot become acceptable simply because we believe the grievance behind it is legitimate.
* “UnitedHealthcare AI rejected 90% of claims” — FALSE. The 90% figure refers to an alleged 90% error rate among certain AI-generated denials, not 90% of claims being rejected.
* “59% of Republicans want universal healthcare” — FALSE. The cited Pew survey found 59% of Republicans said government should not be responsible for ensuring healthcare coverage.
* ”$7.3 billion overcharged cancer patients” — MISLEADING. The FTC’s $7.3B figure concerns PBM revenue above estimated acquisition costs for specialty generic drugs. It was not $7.3B directly overcharged to cancer patients.
* “UnitedHealthcare denies 32% of claims” — MISLEADING. The 32% figure comes from a limited claims dataset, not all UnitedHealthcare claims nationwide.
* ”$700 million annually from HELL corporations lobbying” — MISLEADING. The ~$700M figure covers the healthcare industry broadly, not simply health insurers, and comes from a specific year’s spending.
* “Every developed country has zero medical bankruptcies” — UNSUPPORTED. Other wealthy countries generally provide much stronger financial protection, but “zero” is an unjustified absolute.
* Biggest error: The post converts a modeled estimate of potentially preventable deaths under a hypothetical healthcare system into a literal death toll and then assigns those deaths to insurance-company executives. The Yale study does not support that causal claim.
Fantastic article. Thank you.
I am with you, with every breath I take.
My friend of 40+ years has had multiple brain bleeds and a stroke that has left her paralyzed on one side. She also has Medicare Advantage through Humana. Because she has a tracheostomy tube(?) in her throat *and* needs physical therapy - especially in these early months - only one location in her region can deal with her rehab. The others have already denied her because they don't have the capability to provide rehab and deal with the trach. Humana has refused both initially and on appeal (Medicare rules say that MA plans have the leverage, not them), saying that the hospital can provide PT - which they have already said they cant.
Her cousin and 85 year old brother fly into and out of town to deal with stuff, and local friends help. I do what I can from Europe, where I moved for exactly these kind of reasons - hubby disabled, me a cancer survivor. We've spent years in litigation against HELL corporations, and I get twinges of panic having to deal with this again. None of us know what to do, so we brainstorm online. I might have to fly back to help, but without a clear plan I'm not sure what I would do.