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CEO of UHG Shot and Killed in NYC - WTF is wrong with you New York

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  • If he had survived, I wonder if UnitedHealthcare would have denied his claim

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  • Once upon a time, I lost my insulin and syringes in paris on my way to cannes when on vacation. I discovered this around dinnertime with a week left on my vacation. I was in trouble. I had no prescrip

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#1552
4 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

Let’s use another example: The famous Ford Pinto case involved Ford executives looking at the cost of making pintos gas tanks that would not explode versus the cost of the occasional judgment when it blew up and fricasseed a family. 

Do the execs deserve to die? That is a moral question as well as a legal question.  Legally, there is no death penalty for that.  I guess it might fit somewhere in the negligent homicide category, which is not a death penalty crime.

Now, morally, would I shed a tear if someone whose family died in a Ford Pinto gas tank fire had shot one of those assholes? No I would not.  So with all due respect, I think you are conflating the issues somewhat and turning our absence of moral reprehension upon learning of their deaths into a mistaken belief that we want people to shoot and kill those assholes.  

We are not saying folks should, we are just saying it’s understandable if people do, as it sounds like a resolution that is chock full of wonderful karma from a non-legal standpoint. 

The Sackler Family - yes, evil fucks.  May they forever rot in hell.  The entire opiod crisis.  Fuck every last one of them involved.  

  • J&J's 2022 $26 billion settlement
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Pfizer
  • J&J again in 2013

All predicated on lying, submitting false claims, failing to report safety issues, misbranding, doctor kickbacks, and overall fuckery that killed and/or ruined millions of lives.  

#1553

i have to say, i have never encountered the surname cianfrocco before. that got my attention. can't imagine there are many of those outside of the northeast united states and italy.

#1554
2 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

The Sackler Family - yes, evil fucks.  May they forever rot in hell.  The entire opiod crisis.  Fuck every last one of them involved.  

  • J&J's 2022 $26 billion settlement
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Pfizer
  • J&J again in 2013

All predicated on lying, submitting false claims, failing to report safety issues, misbranding, doctor kickbacks, and overall fuckery that killed and/or ruined millions of lives.  

They deserve a visit from this dude:

john wick lionsgate GIF by John Wick: Chapter 2

#1555
The problem we are facing is that basically everyone thinks they and no one else should get to edit the social contract line by line. But really all you’re doing is using a lighter. 

199e1fdfd5824df80e0de50d91bc318f.jpg
#1556
54 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

 So with all due respect, I think you are conflating the issues somewhat and turning our absence of moral reprehension upon learning of their deaths into a mistaken belief that we want people to shoot and kill those assholes.  

We are not saying folks should, we are just saying it’s understandable if people do, as it sounds like a resolution that is chock full of wonderful karma from a non-legal standpoint. 

this is a very, very difficult concept for some to grasp.

Its the same reason why people went apoplectic when the motivations for 9/11 were discussed. 

#1562
2 hours ago, sidis said:

i have to say, i have never encountered the surname cianfrocco before. that got my attention. can't imagine there are many of those outside of the northeast united states and italy.

C_CianfroccoA_01.jpg

#1563
4 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

Where is the line drawn between "responsible and ceremonial head of evil that can be assassinated" and "just doing a job, man"?

Board of Directors?

CEO only?

C-Suite?

CEO & EVP, SVP, VPs?

Director level?

Manager level?

 

Hey man, I just file the TPS reports.

#1565
5 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

Let’s use another example: The famous Ford Pinto case involved Ford executives looking at the cost of making pintos gas tanks that would not explode versus the cost of the occasional judgment when it blew up and fricasseed a family. 

Do the execs deserve to die? That is a moral question as well as a legal question.  Legally, there is no death penalty for that.  I guess it might fit somewhere in the negligent homicide category, which is not a death penalty crime.

Now, morally, would I shed a tear if someone whose family died in a Ford Pinto gas tank fire had shot one of those assholes? No I would not.  So with all due respect, I think you are conflating the issues somewhat and turning our absence of moral reprehension upon learning of their deaths into a mistaken belief that we want people to shoot and kill those assholes.  

We are not saying folks should, we are just saying it’s understandable if people do, as it sounds like a resolution that is chock full of wonderful karma from a non-legal standpoint. 

I ran into the back of a Pinto in a '81 Dodge Magnum, $1,200.00 worth of damage to the Magnum and all it did to the Pinto was knock the damn license plate off.

#1567
19 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

in Louisiana, there are no punitive damages for that. True, the penalty for bad faith, insurance denial is 50% extra of the dollar amount of the harm you caused an attorney‘s fees.  But seriously disabled people have no lost wages or loss of earning capacity claims - they already weren’t working.   It might be hard to say that their quality of life got worse, because they were on their way to dying when UHC withheld the drug /treatment that would make them live longer.   Are you going to recover something? Possibly. 

But big health insurance evil corp will save a couple billion dollars annually by denying claims. Who gives a shit if you have to sprinkle a couple million dollars here and there because somebody finally takes you to the mattresses?    You announce record profits and dividends, get the board to give you a huge raise, and do coke off the call girl’s ass on the board room conference table after the shareholder meeting. 

9 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

This.  This is the model.  It works, really, really, really well.

Shit, I figured out that was the model when I was a high school age consumer and got utterly fucked by a stereo repair shop (yeah, back in the day when you had stereos you'd get repaired).  They fucked me outta $120.  It was a small enough amount that even with DTPA laws, it wasn't worth the time or effort to keep fighting it.  And I remember bitching to my parents that "even if they get popped one outta ten times, it's still a great profit model for them."  Dad knowingly nodded "exactly," and young Brisket suddenly figured out how shit worked.

Now, there COULD be ways for members of the public to address such bullshittery....but these outfits have successfully convinced the American people over the past 40 years or so that we desperately need "lawsuit reform" and such, making a huge swath of meritorious claims -- and the chief mechanism for requiring bad actors to change their conduct -- into nonviable claims that never even get off the launchpad.  Your state legislator is eating fancy steak dinners and smoking cuban cigars paid for with the premium dollars you paid for coverage (routed through a lobbyist, of course) instead of those dollars being used to pay your claims.  The ROI was great -- the insurers spent $X to buy favorable laws, and as a result, saved/profited 10,000X.  This is the part of the process where we remind the people that it's not just that the insurers fuck you, it's that you can't do a goddamned thing about it.  Any possible path to seeking a redress of grievances has been so obstructed/removed/obliterated that the insurers are now answerable to no one.  Except, of course, to the officials we keep voting for who are well-paid to keep that system firmly in place.

We should insist on better.  We should demand our officials allow for a system that gives human beings a voice and power, and we should refuse to vote for people who aren't on board with that.  I ain't holding out much hope for that, are you?

 

I Guess If You Say So GIF

 

So basically the risk/reward ratio is not close to equal. The denial strategy pays off in the billions but the risk for penalties only pay in the millions makes it an easy equation.

I have been fortunate in not having to deal too much with medical situations but as I get older this definitely weighs on me. Been hoping for some type of reform for quite a while...maybe this could be the catalyst for someone on either side of the political spectrum to take the initiative. Seems like an easy win to garner all that public love if they could start aggressively advocating for healthcare reform. 

 

 

 

#1571

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/11/new-york-police-us-healthcare-hit-list

The New York police department (NYPD) has warned US healthcare executives of a heightened risk to their lives after identifying an online “hitlist” posted in the wake of last week’s assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.

The NYPD’s warning came in a bulletin, which highlighted viral posts publicising the names and salaries of several other health insurance executives. In addition to the social media posts, multiple “wanted” signs featuring corporate chief executives have been posted throughout Manhattan, according to the bulletin, which was first reported by ABC.

The suspect in Thompson’s killing, Luigi Mangione, who has been lionised as a “martyr” on social media – prompting fears that the crime could serve as an inspiration – appeared in a court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday facing charges of second-degree murder. CNN cited two law enforcement officials saying that fingerprints from the assassination scene matched Mangione’s.

CNN has reported that Mangione was found with a notebook, in which he had written about shooting a healthcare executive at a “bean-counter” conference.

“What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents,” CNN reported officials saying about one of the sections in the notebook. Thompson was shot as he arrived at a hotel for a meeting of UnitedHealthcare investors.

#1574
26 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

they-stole-billions-while-denying-thousa

Yea the earnings figure I found for last year was $20B good enough for a spot in the Top 50 in the world....

#1577
Been hoping for some type of reform for quite a while...maybe this could be the catalyst for someone on either side of the political spectrum to take the initiative. Seems like an easy win to garner all that public love if they could start aggressively advocating for healthcare reform.


giphy.gif
#1578

Am I the only one who thinks he looks nothing like the hostel photo from day1?  

I was expecting Dennis Reynolds and we got Greg Brady?

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#1579
1 hour ago, Js1 said:

image.thumb.jpeg.4724011536b87a89ff78457fe81a91ab.jpeg

How long until the McDonald's employee murders the guy in charge of the reward money 

#1580
27 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Am I the only one who thinks he looks nothing like the hostel photo from day1?  

I was expecting Dennis Reynolds and we got Greg Brady?

I mean it's not exact because of angles and lighting, but if you can't get your mind to see it at all we have drone sighting and UFO threads you might enjoy. 

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#1581
36 minutes ago, BearMace said:

I mean it's not exact because of angles and lighting, but if you can't get your mind to see it at all we have drone sighting and UFO threads you might enjoy. 

Big foot, too.

2 hours ago, Js1 said:

image.thumb.jpeg.4724011536b87a89ff78457fe81a91ab.jpeg

I guess we'll get to see if this man was truly loved, valued, and appreciated by his family, who I'm sure will be eternally grateful for the McDonald's employee's tip.

If, however, authorities don't pay that reward, the victim's family will certainly find it in their hearts to pay such a meager sum that only equals 1/860th of Brian Thompson's net worth.

On the other hand, it's also possible they follow in the old man's footsteps and turn down that person's valid claim due to this or some similarly stupid loophole.

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#1582
5 hours ago, dimyh said:

So basically the risk/reward ratio is not close to equal. The denial strategy pays off in the billions but the risk for penalties only pay in the millions makes it an easy equation.

When the punishment for a crime is a fine, it's legalizing crime for rich people/entities.

Remember when TD Bank (and some others too I think) laundered drug money for the cartels?  They literally changed the cashier's windows to be able to fit the duffel bags full of cash the cartels were bringing them.  That's how much money they were washing for these murderous psychos.  Fined $3 Billion.  Which was like one day of revenue for them or some shit.

The people at these corporations have completely subverted the social contract for profits.  If the government/law isn't willing to bring them to heel, it's no surprise that the citizenry will be ok with regular people doing it themselves.    

#1583
5 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Am I the only one who thinks he looks nothing like the hostel photo from day1?  

I was expecting Dennis Reynolds and we got Greg Brady?

He is definitely the male version of Seinfeld’s two-face.  Although, he seems to have about 3 or 4 iterations.

 

#1584
16 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

He is definitely the male version of Seinfeld’s two-face.  Although, he seems to have about 3 or 4 iterations.

 

 

 

Shapeshifter

 

#1585
6 hours ago, SpiralOut said:

When the punishment for a crime is a fine, it's legalizing crime for rich people/entities.

Remember when TD Bank (and some others too I think) laundered drug money for the cartels?  They literally changed the cashier's windows to be able to fit the duffel bags full of cash the cartels were bringing them.  That's how much money they were washing for these murderous psychos.  Fined $3 Billion.  Which was like one day of revenue for them or some shit.

The people at these corporations have completely subverted the social contract for profits.  If the government/law isn't willing to bring them to heel, it's no surprise that the citizenry will be ok with regular people doing it themselves.    

No I don’t remember when TD bank retrofitted their teller windows to accommodate drug cartel duffel bags. Can you provide some background or links to that story?

I recall they had lax AML policies but I’ve never heard of one that had a giant teller slot for duffel bags.

#1587
12 hours ago, dimyh said:

So basically the risk/reward ratio is not close to equal. The denial strategy pays off in the billions but the risk for penalties only pay in the millions makes it an easy equation.

 

It was Merck that got sued over a faulty drug, but in the discovery this exact statement was made.  I want to say it was Vioxx?  Where they knew early on it was going to mess people up, but the profits from the drug would outweigh the penalties.  They ran with it, tens of thousands of people died, they got sued, but yes, the profits did in fact outweigh the lawsuit amounts.  

Quote

“Research later published in the medical journal Lancet estimates that 88,000 Americans had heart attacks from taking Vioxx, and 38,000 of them died.”

NPR

Quote

“Sadly, it is clear to me that Merck's commercial interest in rofecoxib sales exceeded its concern about the drug's potential cardiovascular toxicity.”

Dr. Eric J. TopolNew England Journal of Medicine

 

#1588
55 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

No I don’t remember when TD bank retrofitted their teller windows to accommodate drug cartel duffel bags. Can you provide some background or links to that story?

I recall they had lax AML policies but I’ve never heard of one that had a giant teller slot for duffel bags.

Watch the doc Cocaine Cowboys and how many banks popped up in S. Florida and how deeply tied they were to the drug trade.  It's wild.  

#1589
5 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

It was Merck that got sued over a faulty drug, but in the discovery this exact statement was made.  I want to say it was Vioxx?  Where they knew early on it was going to mess people up, but the profits from the drug would outweigh the penalties.  They ran with it, tens of thousands of people died, they got sued, but yes, the profits did in fact outweigh the lawsuit amounts.  

That's the sort of thing that's illegal if you can't pay for it - ya know, illegal for lower caste but not the ruling caste in our society

#1590
7 hours ago, SpiralOut said:

When the punishment for a crime is a fine, it's legalizing crime for rich people/entities.

Remember when TD Bank (and some others too I think) laundered drug money for the cartels?  They literally changed the cashier's windows to be able to fit the duffel bags full of cash the cartels were bringing them.  That's how much money they were washing for these murderous psychos.  Fined $3 Billion.  Which was like one day of revenue for them or some shit.

The people at these corporations have completely subverted the social contract for profits.  If the government/law isn't willing to bring them to heel, it's no surprise that the citizenry will be ok with regular people doing it themselves.    

Your point stands without having to exaggerate numbers.  Their total yearly revenue is around $30B, net profit is around half of that.  

 

There was one individual found to have knowingly laundered money. He took personal bribes.  He was given federal prison time.  No one else was charged and the company was still fined (the $3b you said, a record amount) as part of the agreement to settle the remaining charges of running afoul of compliance. 

#1592
18 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

the profits from the drug

 

If you want to try to control US healthcare expenditures, which in turn would help to control premium pricing and also reduce the need for Rx utilization management, e.g. step therapies and/or prior auth, we need to start with Pharma. Twenty percent of NHE and there are some really simple common sense things that we could do to start to address, e.g. ban direct to consumer advertising, require cost-effectiveness analyses as part of the approval process, align the pricing of me-too drugs with their incremental benefit, remove some of the absolutely silly regulations that increase costs unnecessarily (e.g. HFA reformulation of inhalers, etc.). All that shit can be done before we start addressing the big issues like securing the investment returns of American taxpayers. 

Edited by Anastasis

#1593
That's the sort of thing that's illegal if you can't pay for it - ya know, illegal for lower caste but not the ruling caste in our society

Finland does a deal where the amount of your traffic fine is tied to your net worth. Because if you’re poor, a $300 fine can mean you can’t pay rent…but if you’re rich, it’s not any deterrent at all.

See this story of a rich Finn popped for €121k traffic fine.

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/ABCNews/finnish-businessman-handed-121000-speeding-ticket/story?id=99861907

Gosh, that makes sense. And would never happen here.
#1594
1 minute ago, Anastasis said:

All that shit can be done before we start addressing the big issues like securing the investment returns of American taxpayers. 

Maybe, just maybe, using a financialized model to dictate healthcare is the reason we're in this whole fucking mess? If everything comes back to paying off returns on investments, then the patients health is explicitly NOT the top priority of those systems. 

#1595
2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Finland does a deal where the amount of your traffic fine is tied to your net worth. Because if you’re poor, a $300 fine can mean you can’t pay rent…but if you’re rich, it’s not any deterrent at all.

See this story of a rich Finn popped for €121k traffic fine.

Gosh, that makes sense. And would never happen here.

Reminds me of a stat I read about Elon Musk:

“Federal Election Commission filings show that Musk spent $277 million to help Trump win reelection, which, given his net worth, is the equivalent of someone with a net worth of $100,000 donating $70.”

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#1596

And my daughter literally just sent me this message:

“Omg so I went to pick up my ——- prescription and I also needed deodorant and ———. The lady rings me up and is like “hey, do you pay for your prescriptions?” And I’m like “yeah, I do.” She goes “oh! So because this is a lifelong medication, you can actually get that paid for. Next time you go into your GP, ask for a medical exemption card. Fill that out and then you won’t have to pay for it again!” And I’m like “oh thanks, will do!” Thinking that I am about to pay out the nose for two months of medication. She rings me up. “15.62,” she says. I look at her. She looks at me. I look at her. She says “…cash or card?” I say “sorry, fifTEEN? Is that just for the deodorant and ———?” Because idk I live in London, seems reasonable. She’s like “oh no, all together! The medication is £5.47.” I look like a bumbling idiot.”

Her med is a real-deal necessary treatment, for a serious condition - not unlike insulin in terms of lifetime need. And it is paid for, and getting it was pretty much effortless.

Again, NHS is far from perfect, but goddamn.

#1597
9 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Maybe, just maybe, using a financialized model to dictate healthcare is the reason we're in this whole fucking mess? If everything comes back to paying off returns on investments, then the patients health is explicitly NOT the top priority of those systems. 

I like innovation. Our system should acknowledge and reward innovation, esp when that innovation is made by individuals or entities that are taking on risk. Unfortunately, nobody has yet figured out a way to power meaningful and consistent innovation in the pharma space with rainbows and cliches. 

Edited by Anastasis

#1598
3 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And my daughter literally just sent me this message:

“Omg so I went to pick up my ——- prescription and I also needed deodorant and ———. The lady rings me up and is like “hey, do you pay for your prescriptions?” And I’m like “yeah, I do.” She goes “oh! So because this is a lifelong medication, you can actually get that paid for. Next time you go into your GP, ask for a medical exemption card. Fill that out and then you won’t have to pay for it again!” And I’m like “oh thanks, will do!” Thinking that I am about to pay out the nose for two months of medication. She rings me up. “15.62,” she says. I look at her. She looks at me. I look at her. She says “…cash or card?” I say “sorry, fifTEEN? Is that just for the deodorant and ———?” Because idk I live in London, seems reasonable. She’s like “oh no, all together! The medication is £5.47.” I look like a bumbling idiot.”

Her med is a real-deal necessary treatment, for a serious condition - not unlike insulin in terms of lifetime need. And it is paid for, and getting it was pretty much effortless.

Again, NHS is far from perfect, but goddamn.

Their system is effectively subsidized by the American taxpayer and the American consumer. 

#1599
1 minute ago, Anastasis said:

I like innovation. Our system should acknowledge and reward innovation, esp with that innovation is made by individuals or entities that are taking on risk. Unfortunately, nobody has yet figured out a way to power meaningful and consistent innovation in the pharma space with rainbows and cliches. 

Well doing it in a way that doesn't pay out the ruling caste would OBVIOUSLY never work

 

1 minute ago, Anastasis said:

Their system is effectively subsidized by the American taxpayer and the American consumer. 

And yet despite these subsidies, the billionaire caste is still taking in FAT margins at the cost of human lives and the misery of millions of Americans. 

#1600
13 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And my daughter literally just sent me this message:

“Omg so I went to pick up my ——- prescription and I also needed deodorant and ———. The lady rings me up and is like “hey, do you pay for your prescriptions?” And I’m like “yeah, I do.” She goes “oh! So because this is a lifelong medication, you can actually get that paid for. Next time you go into your GP, ask for a medical exemption card. Fill that out and then you won’t have to pay for it again!” And I’m like “oh thanks, will do!” Thinking that I am about to pay out the nose for two months of medication. She rings me up. “15.62,” she says. I look at her. She looks at me. I look at her. She says “…cash or card?” I say “sorry, fifTEEN? Is that just for the deodorant and ———?” Because idk I live in London, seems reasonable. She’s like “oh no, all together! The medication is £5.47.” I look like a bumbling idiot.”

Her med is a real-deal necessary treatment, for a serious condition - not unlike insulin in terms of lifetime need. And it is paid for, and getting it was pretty much effortless.

Again, NHS is far from perfect, but goddamn.

Fuck me sideways

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