Brian Thompson

[dinny_g]

Ah yeah I know - her efforts have been more in the miscarriages of justice arena to date, haven't they

Post was tongue in cheek really...

[Beany]

"Help him Kim, he can't go to jail!" (paraphrased from some comments on twitter noted in the article)

Oh mate - he's going to jail.

Ultimately, the solution to people feeling like they have to fucking kill people like Thompson - who by all accounts, appears to have been a complete shitheap of a man in terms of how he ran the company and how his company handled their clients - is to legislate, so that it's not in the interests of health insurance companies to behave like that.

Kim could throw some money towards lobbying efforts for that, that would actually be helpful to everyone impacted by the US healthcare system as it stands.

I'm sure that'd be communism, though - you know what American politics is like

[dinny_g]

I know it's a hugely complex situation but is the anger not aimed at the wrong person / people....

The issue isn't with Insurance Companies who decide which $100 aspirin to allow and which to deny - the issue is with the companies charging $100 for an aspirin. If aspirin's were 10c each, as they actually are, then with similar premiums, the Insurance Companies could pay for more and still turn a profit ?

My American friend chose to start her family here (with her English husband) before moving back to California because it's €250k to have a child with a 4 day stay in hospital. So long as you don't need Epidural's or Ceserian's etc.

[ZedLeg]

Insurance companies are part of the problem though.

Cost is the worst possible reason to deny someone healthcare and (for example) implementing a policy that would leave people destitute for getting cancer is evil.

[dinny_g]

Cost is the worst possible reason to deny someone healthcare and (for example) implementing a policy that would leave people destitute for getting cancer is evil.

No fully agree - it sounds insane. I've seen genuine bills where patients are charged by hospitals for "Emotional Support" at €50 a time. That means they were charged €50 for a hug.

And I suppose the Government falls back behind "Federal V State - we can't intercede" line ??

[ZedLeg]

Government gets paid billions by health industry lobbyists to ignore it.

[dinny_g]

So... America then...

[ZedLeg]

Pretty much.

I think the lack of sympathy for the dead guy suggests that even folk who like capitalism in general are sick of it.

[Gavster]

Government gets paid billions by health industry lobbyists to ignore it.

Not only that, United Healthcare is the ninth largest company IN THE WORLD, with profits of $22,381,000,000 last year according to Wikipedia, so they're potentially paying enormous amounts of tax revenue too.

My European brain simply cannot understand how hospitals can be allowed to make insane profits like that

[ZedLeg]

Imagine going into medicine and getting rich off of denying people care. Monsters.

[speedingfine]

https://archive.is/2024.12.09-230659/ht ... nsequences

[Gavster]

I heard about that from a TikTok post, but hadn't seen it. If they really are his words then I can understand how watching one of your parents suffer like that would leave you feeling utterly helpless.

[240PP]

Saw this on LinkedIn this morning. It’s not gone down well, 3k+ comments.

Particularly the bit about $280B of revenue.

[Beany]

Does Rob read the news? Does he realise that Thompson wasn't gunned down at random?

Certainly proving that many execs are completely out of touch with reality, at least.

[Gavster]

Some large companies have a circle-jerk attitude to the righteousness of their work in the aim of generating profit. I see it in food, companies like Mars who own Pringles will bang on about things like "sustainable snacking" and creating "choice and innovation" for consumers to have more snacking occasions to celebrate with friends and family. They make it sound so wholesome and in everyone's best interest. It's really nauseating when we know they're pushing in the wrong direction for public health. Robert on LinkedIn has adeptly combined that kind of echo-chmaber chat with an even more heightened inability to read the room.

[Sundayjumper]

[Gavster]

The internet has noticed how this photo has fallen into a similar composition as Christ Taken at the Garden of Gethsemane

[ZedLeg]

It looks like they’re going to make an example of him but it doesn’t matter. The statement has been made.

[ZedLeg]

IMG_2449.jpeg (83.82 KiB) Viewed 1176 times

It looks like they’re going to make an example of him but it doesn’t matter. The statement has been made.

[Gavster]

The internet has noticed how this photo has fallen into a similar composition as Christ Taken at the Garden of Gethsemane

Just realised that looks like a helicopter in the background, did they seriously fly him into NYC in a chopper? People pay good money for that kind of experience