America's HELL Corporations

It is long past time we grapple with the violence imposed on Americans from our exploitative for-profit health exploitation system

Thirty days ago, on December 4, the UnitedHealth CEO was allegedly killed by Luigi Mangione. Corporate media has focused heavily on the sensational details of this case. But in my view there’s an even larger question too few seem to be asking: Since the CEO’s death, how many preventable deaths have occurred because of the exploitative policies of health insurance companies like UnitedHealth, and where is the accountability for those deaths? The answer is daunting, disgusting, and destructive to America’s peace and security—yet corporate media continues to ignore it. Let’s Address This.

(L) Luigi Mangione is accused of killing (R) UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson.

According to The Lancet, America’s for-profit health system is responsible for nearly 68,000 preventable deaths every year—that’s about 5,589 preventable deaths in the 30 days since the CEO’s killing. If we agree killing is wrong, and Mangione is on trial because he is accused of killing the CEO, then the next question is simple: When do the CEOs who knowingly enabled these 5589 deaths go on trial? UnitedHealth is already being sued for enabling the deaths of senior citizens for knowingly denying 90% of patients the critical medications they needed to live. But beyond civil lawsuits, when do the criminal trials begin for knowingly causing these thousands of deaths?

The answer? They never will. Because in America, we’ve normalized corporate greed and profit-driven healthcare policies as “business as usual,” even when they kill tens of thousands of people annually. And those responsible? They remain a protected class.

What’s Considered a Crime? It Depends on Who You Are

If you want to understand how crime is a social construct in America, consider these cases:

• Briana Boston, a mother of three in Florida with no criminal record, send to her insurance corporation BlueCrossBlue Shield “delay, defend, deny you’re next,” after they denied her healthcare claim. She owns no weapons, committed no act of violence, but was arrested, charged with terrorism, and had to pay a $100,000 bond to get out of jail. She now faces 15 years in prison for terrorism.

• Brad Spafford, a white man in Virginia, was found this week with multiple illegal guns, 150 illegal home made bombs, had openly advocated for the assassination of Vice President Kamala Harris, blew off three of his own fingers while testing his weapons, and lied to the FBI about his weapons and bombs. He has still not been charged with terrorism and only had to pay a $25,000 bond to be released.

Let’s be clear: Spafford had actual bombs and guns with intent to use them, yet isn’t labeled a terrorist, and faces only a minor weapons charge. Meanwhile, Boston stated empty words that insurance companies didn’t like and is being charged with terrorism.

This double standard is glaring. It shows us exactly how power is wielded in America.

Violence committed by the wealthy and powerful, even when it results in death, is normalized. But when everyday people speak out against exploitation, they’re met with the full force of the legal system.

Class Warfare: Who Gets to Be a Protected Class?

If you think this discrepancy is unique, let’s take it a step further:

• Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who killed nine Black people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, with the stated goal of starting a race war, was not charged with terrorism.

• Luigi Mangione, who killed one CEO in what he described as a rebuke of America’s exploitative healthcare system, is charged with terrorism.

What’s the difference? Simple: wealthy CEOs are a protected class, and working Black people are not. A juxtaposition that makes no sense, yet is the ground reality.

I can give multiple more examples, but they all point to the painful truth that our systems of power only seem to define violence and terrorism when it is directed at the wealthy and powerful—not when the wealthy and powerful enact policies that literally kill or ensure the death of working people.

The Real Violence We Refuse to Acknowledge

No, I don’t think killing CEOs is the answer. But I do think we need to recognize that the violence of America’s healthcare system is real and ongoing. Nearly 70,000 Americans die preventable deaths each year because health insurance corporations prioritize profit over care.

That is violence.

Denying care to someone who needs life-saving medication is violence. Forcing families into medical bankruptcy is violence. Designing policies that knowingly cause thousands of preventable deaths is violence.

But because we’ve normalized this violence, we don’t even acknowledge it as such. And if we don’t call out this systemic violence for what it is, then we will never make progress toward protecting ourselves from future harm. Because it isn’t just about demanding accountability for the nearly 70,000 Americans who died in the past year because health insurance corporations were more focused on raising profits to “improve shareholder value,” it is about preventing the atrocity of another nearly 70,000 Americans who will die over the next year because health insurance corporations will continue to prioritize profits over people.

It’s Time to Stop Calling Them ‘Health Insurance Companies’

You might be wondering why I titled this article with “America’s HELL Corporations?” It isn’t just a play on words. It’s because we must stop using the sanitized term “health insurance companies” to describe what these corporations actually do.

These are not benevolent entities providing care—physicians and nurses provide the care. They are not insuring health either—we insure our own health with exercise and healthy eating. Instead, they are exploiting illness. And then, after denying us access to the care we need when we get hurt or sick as all people do, they limit their own liability to prevent meaningful accountability. Therefore, I propose going forward we stop using “health insurance corporations” because the term is inaccurate and false.

Instead, call them what they are: Health Exploitation Limited Liability Corporations.

Or, more succinctly: HELL Corporations.

Because that’s what they create—hell—for millions of Americans forced to fight for basic care, navigate endless bureaucracy, and pay exorbitant prices for life-saving treatments—which are then all too often denied without accountability. And by the way, these 70,000 deaths do not account for the tens of millions more who suffer in agony and pain, receiving just enough care to not die, but not enough to regain health. That preventable but forced suffering is violence. It is HELL. And violent hell demands accountability.

So let’s call them what they are: HELL Corporations.

The Call to Action: Stand Against Corporate Exploitation

In the 30 days since the UnitedHealth CEO was killed, nearly 6000 Americans have died due to lack of healthcare access due to these exploitative HELL Corporations. And 30 days from now, some 6000 more Americans will have died a similar fate. And I am willing to bet this is likely the first time you heard this horrifying fact so much as acknowledged by any corporate media outlet. This is the goal of HELL Corporations, and the failure of corporate media.

Corporate media will never hold HELL Corporations accountable. They will continue to whitewash the exploitation, downplay the systemic violence, and protect the powerful. That’s why independent voices are so essential in this fight for justice.

If this resonated with you, subscribe to this newsletter and join us in speaking truth to power. Together, we can amplify the stories that corporate media refuses to tell. We can demand accountability. And we can keep fighting for a healthcare system that values human life over corporate profit. United, we can stop the vice grip of HELL Corporations, and demand healthcare as a human right for all people in this country.

Let’s keep going. Let’s hold the powerful accountable. And let’s never stop calling out injustice.