Man Accused In UHC Slaying Saw It As ‘Symbolic Takedown,’ NYPD Says

The New York Times: Police Say Suspect’s Notebook Described Rationale for C.E.O. Killing
Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with killing the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare outside a company investors’ day in Manhattan, was arrested with a notebook that detailed plans for the shooting, according to two law enforcement officials. The notebook described going to a conference and killing an executive, the officials said. (Southall and Cramer, 12/11)

Stat: UnitedHealthcare Shooting Suspect's Manifesto Cites Health Care Critics
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO appears to cite two prominent critics of the U.S. health care system in his handwritten manifesto — journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal and filmmaker Michael Moore — although neither of their works focused on the insurance company. (Herman and Bannow, 12/11)

AP: Suspect In UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing Could Return To New York On A Governor's Warrant
The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO plans to fight extradition to New York to face murder charges, but officials hope to get him back with what’s called a governor’s warrant. The process could happen quickly or take more than a month. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office on Wednesday had not yet asked Pennsylvania for the warrant after murder charges were filed against Luigi Mangione late Monday in New York. (Dale, 12/11)

The Hill: NYPD Investigating Possible Mangione Back Injury And Insurance Claims
New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, may have filed an insurance claim for back pain last year. “So we’re looking into whether or not the insurance industry either denied a claim from him or didn’t help him out to the fullest extent.” He added that investigators believe Mangione’s injury may have been sustained on July 4, 2023. (Fields, 12/11)

Los Angeles Times: What Is Spondylolisthesis, The Condition That Plagued Luigi Mangione?
What a difference a fraction of an inch can make. Having one of the 33 bones in his spine out of alignment by less than half an inch apparently diminished Luigi Mangione’s quality of life to the point that his lower legs felt like they were on fire. At other times, the 26-year-old charged with murdering the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare seesawed between pain and numbness in his lower back and genital area. (Kaplan, 12/11)

More reaction from the health industry —

The New York Times: Health Insurance Workers Fearful Amid Public Anger After Slaying of C.E.O.
The fatal shooting last week of an executive on the streets of New York City plunged his family members and colleagues into grief. For rank-and-file employees across the health insurance industry, the killing has left them with an additional emotion: fear, with many frightened for their own safety and feeling under attack for their work. One UnitedHealthcare worker who processes claims described being cleareyed about the American health care system’s shortcomings, but also believes that she and her colleagues did their best to help patients within the limits of that system. Like most workers interviewed, she did not want to be named because, given the reaction after Mr. Thompson’s killing, she feared for her own safety. (Abelson, Smith, Benner and Harris, 12/11)

The Boston Globe: Senator Elizabeth Warren Says CEO’s Killing Should Be 'Warning'
Senator Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday that while “violence is never the answer,” the outrage directed at health insurers after the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson should be “a warning” to the health care industry that “people can be pushed only so far.” “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Warren, a longtime critic of the US health care system, said in an interview with HuffPost. (Vega and Puzzanghera, 12/11)

Bloomberg: UnitedHealthcare CEO Was ‘One Of The Good Guys,’ UnitedHealth CEO Witty Says
UnitedHealth Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty called slain colleague Brian Thompson “one of the good guys” in a note to employees Wednesday, as he sought to reassure them amid a torrent of online hate. “We owe it to Brian to make good on our promise to make health care work better for everybody, in every way,” Witty said in the note, which was viewed by Bloomberg. The letter acknowledges the company is in a “state of mourning” a week after Thompson, 50, was killed in New York on his way to an investor conference. Thompson was chief executive of UnitedHealthcare Inc. (Tozzi and Muller, 12/12)

CBS News: After Killing Of UnitedHealthcare CEO, 2 Pittsburgh Companies Remove Leadership Pages From Websites
Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health removed leadership pages from their websites a week after the deadly shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. A spokesperson confirmed to KDKA-TV on Wednesday that they took the pages down out of an abundance of caution. UPMC's CEO still has a bio on its website but no photo. (Borrasso, 12/11)

Also —

Stat: How AI Is Supercharging The Fight Over Health Insurance Denials
Like many Americans, Holden Karau said she was fed up with health insurance. The software engineer’s disillusionment began in 2019, when her insurer, UnitedHealthcare, balked at covering physical therapy after she was hit by a car and could not walk. She said the hassles piled on stress, forced her to pay more out of pocket, and delayed access to care she needed to recover from multiple broken bones. (Ross, 12/12)

Axios: "Delay, Deny, Defend" Book Climbs Bestseller List After CEO Killing
A week after the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a book criticizing the U.S. health care industry skyrocketed to the top of an Amazon bestseller list. Author Jay Feinman's "Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It" is second on the site's nonfiction bestseller list Wednesday. The words "delay," "deny" and "depose" were found etched on bullet casings at the site of the CEO's killing. (Habeshian, 12/11)