Dec 30, 2024
The fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, has raised alarm bells across corporate America.
Executive security firms have seen a deluge of calls from nervous corporate leaders, according to Fortune, while health insurance companies have canceled in-person meetings and placed fences around their headquarters.
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However, Shark Tank star and investor Kevin O'Leary says enhanced security measures are not the solution to the industry’s underlying problem.
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“Putting a fence around headquarters, hiring more security guards — that's all bad imagery,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in a recent interview. “It's all bad and it's not the right answer.”
Instead, the multimillionaire described a better approach to the public backlash against healthcare giants.
‘Read the room’
Instead of bulking up security, O’Leary says corporate executives in the healthcare industry should pay closer attention to the underlying reason why the public execution resonated with people.
“You've got to read the room and realize right now that the public is turning against you,” he said. “They are your customers and they don't like it.”
Only 17% of American voters surveyed by Emerson College found the killer’s actions acceptable. However, 16% are unsure how they feel about the incident while 41% of voters aged 18-29 find the killer’s actions acceptable, according to recent polling.
These statistics could highlight the growing frustration with America’s uniquely dysfunctional healthcare system. Some 73% of healthcare providers believe that claim denials are increasing, while 67% feel payment processing is taking longer, according to Experian’s 2024 State of Claims report. 38% of these providers said that at least one in 10 claims is denied.
Meanwhile, 68% of Americans surveyed by Gallup say the national healthcare system is in crisis or has major problems.
O’Leary suggests automation and technology could improve outcomes for many. With better technology, “when you appeal a case, it's not a delay situation and if you have a valid claim, you get paid out,” he claims. “That's what insurance is supposed to do.”
However, the U.S. health insurance industry has already integrated artificial intelligence and automation to drive denials even higher and lower their costs, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
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Medicare for all
The U.S. is the only country in the developed world without universal health coverage, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
Most countries with high incomes don’t have to deal with an expensive middle layer of private insurance companies between doctors and patients.
To align the U.S. system with its peers, senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed a “Medicare For All” program. This program would introduce a single-payer healthcare system that would replace private insurance with a government-run program, providing universal healthcare coverage to all Americans, funded primarily through taxes.
However, without broad-based support with lawmakers, this policy is a long way from being implemented.
For now, American families can mitigate the costs of their healthcare by shopping around for insurance providers based on their denial rates, comparing plans on platforms such as Healthcare.gov, exploring the coverage and benefits provided by their employer and tapping into tax credits and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to lower monthly premiums.
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He's also the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms. His work has appeared in Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine and Piggybank.
