Just over a year before United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered this week in Midtown Manhattan, a lawsuit revealed the harshness of the insurance giant’s claims-denial process.
In November of the previous year, the estates of two former UHC patients filed a lawsuit in Minnesota, alleging that the insurer used an AI algorithm to deny claims that doctors had already approved for elderly patients.
The algorithm in question, known as nH Predict, reportedly had a 90 percent error rate. According to the families of the two deceased men who filed the suit, UHC was aware of this flaw.
As the case moved through the courts, public outrage over the insurer’s tendency to deny claims has only grown. Speculation about the assassin’s motives suggests he might have been one of many frustrated by UHC’s coverage.
While we don’t yet know the identity or reasoning of the person who shot Thompson, reports indicate that the assassin wrote “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” on the shell casing of the bullets used in the killing — a message that hints at the possibility of the killer being upset with the aggressive claim denials plaguing the healthcare system.
Beyond the killer’s own reasons, the online response to Thompson’s death is shockingly celebratory, revealing how deeply frustration with the American insurance and healthcare system has grown.
As The American Prospect put it, “only about 50 million customers of America’s reigning medical monopoly might have a motive to exact revenge upon the UnitedHealthcare CEO.”
The troubling allegations surrounding the company’s AI algorithm — we reached out to UHC to ask if it’s still in use but have yet to receive a reply — shed light on why people are so angry.
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