CEO's killing brings resentment of U.S. health care system to the fore

UnitedHealthcare

Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO brings resentment of the health care system to the fore

By Bob Herman and Tara Bannow

Hyacinth Empinado/STAT

The targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian was a tragedy that adds to the country's grim tally of gun deaths.

But instead of eliciting sympathy, it opened the floodgates for an outpouring of rage, captured across social media and online forums, over the health care system — one that charges people the highest prices in the world, erects financial and bureaucratic barriers to getting care, and has plunged millions of people into debt.

Now, Americans are grappling with two heavy subjects at once: the callousness of a slaying, and an undercurrent of deep-seated anger at a health care industry that makes a lot of money by exploiting Americans.