bluesapples on X
The reaction to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is a perfect illustration of society's discontent with the avarice of corporatism, particular in sectors like healthcare and insurance where business as usual for the industries normalizes predatory practices. Although no motive for the murder has yet to be conclusively determined by the NYPD, the development that Thompson's shooter inscribed his bullet casings with the words "deny," "defend," and "depose" conveys that the ethics of the healthcare insurance industry were behind the impetus of the killing. In the wake of Thompson's murder, another healthcare insurance conglomerate has chosen to walk back a controversial policy change it had slated to take effect in 2025 that embodies the depravity of the industry that has left many without sympathy for the death of the United Healthcare CEO.
In November, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that it would no longer continue to pay for anesthesia over the complete duration of medical procedures for its policyholders in Connecticut, New York, and Missouri. Instead, the healthcare insurer would only pay for anesthesia over a predetermined amount of time. The insurer stated it would rely on parameters categorized as 'physician work time values' by the Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services, a metric healthcare professionals opposed to Anthem's new policy described as arbitrary and unclear.
This meant that ff the prescribed time frame for use of anesthesia exceeded those CMS metrics that Anthem would completely deny the bill submitted by anesthesiologists, leaving patients to cover the enormous cost. In an official statement announcing the new policy, Anthem wrote “We will utilize the CMS Physician Work Time values to target the number of minutes reported for anesthesia services. Claims submitted with reported time above the established number of minutes will be denied.” The policy change was set to take effect in February 2025.
Upon the announcement of the new anesthesia coverage policy, Anthem was met with vociferous outrage from policyholders, medical professionals, and public officials alike. The American Society For Anesthesiologists called upon the healthcare insurer to reverse the decision before it went into effect Donald E. Arnold, M.D., FACHE, FASA of the ASA categorized the directive as "the latest in a long line of appalling behavior by commercial health insurers looking to drive their profits up at the expense of patients and physicians providing essential care." The statement from the ASA illustrated Dr. Arnold's point by noting that Anthem reported a 24.12% increase in its year-over-year net income, along with a 24.29% increase in its net profit margin.
Despite the fervent outrage, Anthem remained indignant to the concerns raised by clinicians and public health officials. The insurer was heading into the new year with the policy change set to take effect undeterred. At least, that was until the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Following Thompson's killing, consummate MSM shill and fake news parasite Taylor Lorenz put Anthem's new policy on anesthesia coverage back into the limelight. Lorenz reposted the press release issued by the ASA to Anthem in November, writing "And people wonder why we want these executives dead," on her account on Bluesky. Just hours after the incendiary post, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that it would be reserving the change in policy and continue to pay for policyholder's anesthesia as it previously had.
Anthem desperately and unconvincingly tried to distance itself from any insinuation that the hostile political climate against health insurance companies that manifest in Thompson's murder is what led to their decision to reverse of the policy change. “There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy. As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change,” Anthem wrote in a statement to The New York Post.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul amplified efforts to distance the decision to pull back the policy change from Thompson's murder by opportunistically framing it as a political victory for her regime. “Last night, I shared my outrage at a plan from Anthem to strip away coverage from New Yorkers who had to go under anesthesia for surgery. We pushed Anthem to reverse course and today they will be announcing a full reversal of this misguided policy,” Hochul posted on X.
While Hochul exercised a more civil response compared to Lorenz's tact in lambasting Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the outrage against her violent rhetoric was motivated by underlying disdain for the former Washington Post mainstay to begin with. During her time at the WaPo, NYT, The Daily Beast, and other hyper-liberal MSM outlets, Lorenz become infamous as a mouthpiece for establishment propaganda. The ill will she sewed leading up to her post regarding Anthem's policy change largely is what fueled criticism of her message. She followed up her initial post in an effort to subdue criticism leveled against her, stating "People have very justified hatred toward insurance company CEOs because these executives are responsible for an unfathomable amount of death and suffering,"
Despite making a career on sewing political division, the sentiment Lorenz expressed is largely shared across political and social divides. While others sharing her perspective articulated a more level-headed response to Thompson's murder, his shooting highlights how the social fabric frayed by the strain placed upon the masses by the elite has started to tear at its seams. As Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield's about-face shows, if the risk demonstrated by Thompson's murder is the cost of doing business then it is a price magnates across all industries have to ask themselves if they are willing to pay.
