Brian Thompson's Cash Cow: Cancer Patients
HELL Corporations raked in billions exploiting and overcharging cancer patients—and politicians on both sides of the aisle let them
We now know UnitedHealth—under slain CEO Brian Thompson—illegally overcharged cancer patients for cancer medications by more than 1000%.1 In doing so, they raked in billions in profits while exploiting the most marginalized among us. But here’s what we don’t yet know: How many cancer patients died or were financially ruined as a result of this horrific corporate policy? And here’s what we demand to know: Why is this act of greed and cruelty deemed legitimate corporate strategy, and not intentional murder? Similarly, where are the arrests for those responsible for this vile and deadly cruelty? Let’s Address This.
Which Lives Matter?
A five-year investigation into UnitedHealth’s practices by the FTC found that, “OptumRx, the group's pharmacy benefit manager, along with its two main peers, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark Rx, have pocketed an extra $7.3 billion over cost thanks to price gouging” of overcharging cancer patients by more than 1000%.
It seems clear by now that the biggest difference between an assailant allegedly killing a CEO in broad daylight, and a CEO deliberately enabling the deaths of countless cancer patients, is that in the former case one CEO is killed, while in the latter case thousands of cancer patients are killed—and continue to be killed. Yet, our laws hold the killing of one CEO incomparably worse than the ongoing killing of countless cancer patients. Why? This double standard is an indictment of a system that excuses, even celebrates certain methods of killing people—namely for profit corporate murder.
Yes, celebrates. Corporations that make record profits, as UnitedHealth has, grace the cover of Forbes, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal. Their CEOs are hailed as capitalist icons who ‘increased shareholder value’ to unprecedented heights.
Meanwhile, per the Lancet, 68,000 Americans die preventable deaths annually due to lack of healthcare access.2 Indeed, if corporations are people, as the Supreme Court insists, why are health insurance policies that deliberately, even illegally, deny life-saving medicine not also considered intentional murder—as Mangione is charged with?
And this is the key point: The killing of the UnitedHealth CEO is not the breaking point of society’s fabric—it’s a symptom of a system that’s already broken. One in which HELL Corporations3 implement cruel policy at will, no matter the number of people who die as a result, as long as it makes them profit. And their profits are grotesque.
The harsh truth is this: We may never know how many of UnitedHealth’s patients suffered financial ruin because UnitedHealth overcharged them by more than 1000%. We may never know how many of UnitedHealth’s patients died preventable deaths, because they and their families could not afford the 1000% spike in the cost of cancer medications. But if the NYPD can deploy hundreds of police officers to hunt down Luigi Mangione for killing one CEO, surely our law enforcement can investigate and determine who was responsible for illegally overcharging cancer patients, enabling their financial ruin and death? Or do all lives not matter anymore?
And to be sure—this is a bipartisan problem. Let me give you a contemporary example to prove this point.
Unity Over Party Politics
First, let’s be clear that two things can be true at once. We can recognize that Republicans are openly trying to repeal the ACA, expand the for profit health exploitation industry, and cut Medicare and Medicaid—and we should oppose and categorically condemn these acts. And we can recognize that too many Democrats are sadly complicit and not doing enough to stop this assault on our health. Diseases like cancer do not care what party we affiliate with. And therefore, until we stand united as Americans—above partisan politics—we will not have the healthcare we need to live. Okay, that said, let me provide the receipts to prove my point.
I have run for Congress twice, against two different members of Congress. Consider these facts from each of my runs for Congress, and as you read, ask yourself what party you think my opponents belonged to?
Both of my opponents opposed guaranteed universal healthcare and have taken absurd amounts of money for their re-elections from HELL Corporations.
Both of my opponents took that money, then voted repeatedly to repeal the ACA, including repealing the protection on people with pre-existing conditions.
Both of my opponents voted to gut the Americans with Disabilities Act, and deny people with disabilities the right to sue when they faced discrimination.
Both of my opponents were well funded by Big Oil, which has enabled climate disaster and increased climate related health issues for tens of millions of people.
Both of my opponents took thousands in campaign donations from UnitedHealth, even as UnitedHealth exploited cancer patients, overcharged them by more than 1000%, and likely enabled financial ruin and preventable death.
And finally, having accepted funding from UnitedHealth, both of my opponents have since looked the other way, refusing to hold UnitedHealth accountable.
If you’re thinking that I probably ran against two different Republicans, you’d be wrong. One of my opponents was a Republican named Rob Wittman. And the other opponent was a Democrat named Bill Foster (who fancies himself a scientist and brags about making science based policy decisions). His “science based decisions” led him to try to repeal protections for people with pre-existing conditions, gut the Americans with Disabilities Act, and still refuse to act to hold UnitedHealth accountable for exploiting cancer patients. (Foster certainly cashed UnitedHealth’s campaign check without thinking twice). The hypocrisy and cowardice is through the roof—and that’s exactly why we cannot fall into the trap of being divided on this issue.
Conclusion
Instead, I implore my fellow Americans that it is well past time we stand united against this exploitation. That means demanding universal healthcare, holding corporations accountable for the lives they take, and holding those politicians accountable who refuse to act to protect our lives.
The American people are fed up with a system that allows the wealthy to enjoy endless privileges while the rest of us are denied basic rights and needs like healthcare and cancer medication. As I’ve said before, this is a fight for human rights that we must win. A fight for our children, for the 68,000 Americans who die needlessly every year, for the 500,000 Americans who file medical bankruptcy annually, and for the tens of millions of families trapped in the cruel cycle of profit-driven exploitation.
As this next Republican administration does its best to gut healthcare, and as complicit Democrats like Bill Foster bend the knee to corrupt corporations like UnitedHealth, it is that much more important we stand united as Americans to protect our basic right to live. That is how we can recognize the humanity in one another, and truly form a more perfect Union.
UnitedHealth, employer of slain exec Brian Thompson, found to have overcharged some cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000% available at https://www.yahoo.com/news/unitedhealth-employer-slain-exec-brian-175429944.html
Improving the Prognosis of Healthcare in the USA available at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)33019-3/abstract
HELL Corporations are what I now exclusively call health insurance companies. HELL is an acronym that stands for Health Exploitation Limited Liability Corporations.
I'm currently getting chemo for Stage 4 inoperable lung cancer. My treatments are every three weeks, with labs at 2:15, meet with doctor at 3, and get my infusion at 4 pm.
The hospital bills my insurance (BCBS) about $20K for one treatment (ONE!). I then get billed for about $4K (until I hit my deductible, which drops it a bit, and then I hit my out-of-pocket, which means no more out-of-pocket until next January).
We're already paying a ridiculous amount for meds that have been around a long time. Overcharging those of us already undergoing all this? Just despicable.
This is why we must be careful when some people open their mouths to distract us from issues like this. These organizations have way too much influence on healthcare. They need to be stopped.