The United States healthcare system has been the center of debate for its inefficiency and troubling costs associated with medical care. At the heart of this crisis lies a complex issue, intertwined with the capitalist system, driven by large corporations like UnitedHealthcare and other insurance companies—radical capitalists who prioritize their gains over patient well-being.
The result is a healthcare system that leaves millions—specifically about 41 million in 2013—without adequate care, creating systems of inequality and prioritizing financial gain over human lives. According to PubMed, one in three Americans struggle with paying medical bills. In 2006 alone, 26,260 Americans aged 25 to 64 died due to a lack of health insurance.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of UnitedHealthcare—one of the five largest health insurance companies in the country—was assassinated. While I want to stress that the act of murder is heinous, the real crime we are blindsighted by is healthcare. We all rely on it whether it's for our routine checks with our primary care providers and running to urgent care for our flu of the season yet despite being one of the leading nations in medical advancement, our largest health insurance systems are failing.
A 2023 survey by the American Medical Association showed that 94% of physicians said prior authorization delayed care and 78% said it sometimes led to patients abandoning treatment. Many Americans are traveling overseas, aware of the affordability abroad, flying to countries across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to receive affordable care. Why not take a plane to another country to receive crucial care?
When we look at healthcare accessibility and affordability abroad, Norway and Sweden are considered some of the best, offering universal healthcare systems funded through taxes, ensuring equal access to medical services with minimal out-of-pocket expenses. In North America, Canada is known for its single-payer system that guarantees universal coverage for people, though it faces issues of long wait times for non-urgent care. Northern European countries have always been recognized for their excellence in healthcare accessibility, with systems designed to minimize the financial burden on their citizens.
For timeliness and health outcomes, Japan and Singapore are at the frontlines. Japan offers universal coverage with short wait times, having some of the best health outcomes globally, including high life expectancy. Singapore uses a hybrid system of subsidies, savings, and insurance, providing patients with high-quality care while maintaining low costs—something that the U.S. severely lacks.
The nation's reaction to the CEO Brian Thompson of Unitedhealthcare is shocking, across several social media platforms, reactions revealed an unusual moment of bipartisan agreement. People from across the political spectrum shared memes of Luigi Magione and made critical commentary. People argued in the comment section of PEOPLE’s Magazine Instagram account, @lemonadelucy stated “Stop making him into a hero.” @biscuitdesigner in response said, “If someone assassinated Kim Jong Un the West would call him a savior. It’s all relative. Murder is not intrinsically good—But the symbolic dismissal of a system, that has itself ruined literally millions of lives and is a concept beyond just one man’s death….”.
Several used CEO Thompson's death as a turning point to express their frustrations about the state of healthcare in the United States, this rare unity of the public resurfaces how healthcare is an issue that is affecting several, regardless of political affiliation, reflecting the disenchantment and systemic failures and inequities, showing how the U.S. healthcare reform is not just a partisan issue but a universal one.
In most countries, healthcare is viewed as a fundamental right—a service that should be provided to all citizens, regardless of their income or social status. In the U.S., healthcare is treated as a commodity to be bought and sold in the marketplace.
So why is that?
This shift toward privatization (as the Trump administration leans toward) and profit-driven healthcare has led to a system where corporations have built a dictatorship over the terms in which Americans can receive simple healthcare.
Americans are putting in more money than what they earn, the average American makes revenue bi-weekly and survives check to check, stretching their well-being into pieces, leaving many at the question of, “Will I use my check to pay the rent I missed, finish paying the debt on my credit card because I needed to buy groceries, or to pay for my essential medicines?”
Profits are placed before the health of individuals. Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, often refusing necessary health procedures and care just to remain financially stable— that is a sick reality.
Large corporations such as UnitedHealthcare are some of the biggest players of the health insurance system. Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, had an estimated net worth of approximately $43 million at the time of his assassination Dec. 2024, this include about $42 million in UnitedHealth Group stock holdings he withheld, as well as another stock valuing over $21 million. Thompson’s annual salary as CEO was reported to be around $10 million—$10 million, a salary that could easily cover the cost of an individual’s medical treatment. Yet, the denial rate of UnitedHealthcare remains the highest among the five largest insurers in the country.
Several have taken to the internet to applaud and joke around about the assassination of Brian Thompson, we must be clear: murder is a heinous act. Luigi Mangione's act was murder but also wan intention to overthrow UnitedHealthcare corruption, a company holding the care of 29 million Americans, yet the company denied every one in three claims in 2023— if we do the math here, that's about 33.33% — This leaves me at the question, what are we missing and what don’t we know?
The act alone symbolized the hierarchy we are living in where at the cost of human lives, the rich continue and continue to gain. What this tragedy surfaces is a deeper issue at large: the disparity we are living in, one that is difficult to describe. We are falling into a dark dystopian hole, where cancer patients are forced to appeal denials from insurance companies and fight for treatments that cost millions. A reality where people are starting GoFundMe campaigns to afford the funds to survive. This is sickening.
As 2024 ends and 2025 approaches, the Trump administration’s return to office may bring this dark reality back into focus. A reality where patients are denied treatment and where basic healthcare is increasingly out of reach. This system is broken, and it is time for a change.
The opinion desk can be reached at opinion@ubspectrum.com
