Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In UnitedHealthcare Case, A Charge Of Murder As An Act Of Terrorism
AP: Prosecutors Charge Luigi Mangione With Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO As An Act Of Terrorism
The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism, prosecutors said Tuesday as they worked to bring him to a New York court from a Pennsylvania jail. Luigi Mangione already was charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson, but the terror allegation is new. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thompson’s death on a midtown Manhattan street “was a killing that was intended to evoke terror. And we’ve seen that reaction.” (Offenhartz and Peltz, 12/17)
Politico: Trump’s Former Surgeon General On UnitedHealthcare Killing: ‘Insurers Absolutely Cannot Ignore This Moment’
Jerome Adams, who was Surgeon General during the first Trump administration — a position he did not seek to reprise in the second — does not condone the killing. But he says “it signals a profound loss of confidence in structures that are meant to support and protect the public.” Adams, an anesthesiologist who now leads Purdue University’s health equity initiatives, spoke to POLITICO Magazine about what Thompson’s murder means for a health care system already mired in politicization and distrust. (Kenen, 12/17)
The Hill: Luigi Mangione's Friend Reveals His Anti-Tech Sentiments
Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, was “afraid of losing agency” to technology, a friend said Monday. British journalist Gurwinder Bhogal befriended Mangione after he became a fan of Bhogal’s blog focused on the impacts of the technology in the modern age. In an interview with CNN, Bhogal claimed the 26-year-old bashed tech advancements, dubbing common internet pastimes as “shallow entertainment” that were “taking people’s agency away from them.” “He also believed social media addiction was a big problem that was taking people’s agency away from them as well,” Bhogal told anchor Erin Burnett. Bhogal said he couldn’t have predicted Mangione would be linked to the insurance CEO’s death based on their conversations but acknowledged Mangione spent time criticizing the American health system. “He did allude to his frustrations with the U.S. health care system,” specifically how expensive it was, and that led to a discussion about the U.K. system. (Fields, 12/17)
Gun violence in schools —
The Washington Post: Court Records Point To Troubled Home Life For Wisconsin School Shooter
The 15-year-old girl who killed two people and wounded six others at her small Christian school here Monday had a turbulent home life, according to court records, which show that her parents divorced and remarried multiple times and that she had been enrolled in therapy. With much still unknown, a Washington Post review of court records points to an unsettled childhood for Rupnow, whose parents’ custody agreements sometimes forced her to move between their homes every two or three days. (12/17)
The New York Times: Gun Violence Around Schools Has Risen Since The Pandemic
Gun violence on school grounds has seen a notable uptick in the last four years, according to a review of data collected by the K-12 School Shooting Database. More than 50 shootings with at least one victim have occurred during school time each year since 2021, according to the database, a research project that tracks all instances in which a gun was fired or brandished on school property. The victims and suspects were not all minors. (Closson, 12/17)
Also —
CBS News: Maryland Attorney General Joins Coalition To Hold Firearm Industry Accountable For Impact On Gun Violence
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general to hold the firearms industry accountable for its impact on gun violence. The first-of-its-kind, multi-state coalition aims to reduce gun violence by enforcing each state's civil liability and consumer protection laws to promote public safety, the AG said. (Lockman, 12/17)
KFF Health News: New Colorado Gun Law Aims To Shore Up Victim Services
Colorado’s new voter-approved gun initiative has a target unlike those of previous measures meant to reduce gun violence. The tax on guns and ammunition is meant to generate revenue to support cash-strapped victim services, and it’s an open question whether it will affect firearms sales. The 6.5% tax on manufacturers and sellers — including pawnbrokers — of guns, gun parts, and ammunition will generate an estimated $39 million a year. (Bichell, 12/18)
KFF Health News: Rage Has Long Shadowed American Health Care. It’s Rarely Produced Big Change
Among the biggest-grossing films in America in February 2002 were a war drama about American troops in Somalia (“Black Hawk Down”), ... and a future Oscar winner about a brilliant mathematician struggling with schizophrenia (“A Beautiful Mind”). But none of these films topped the box office that month. That title went to “John Q.,” a movie about health insurance. Or, more precisely, a story about a desperate father — played by Denzel Washington — who takes a hospital emergency room hostage at gunpoint when his HMO refuses to cover a heart transplant for his young son. (Levey, 12/18)
