Insurance CEOs hired police in multiple states to provide security and conduct checks at their homes following the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in late 2024, the Washington Post reported Jan. 29
According to the report, Cigna's CEO and CFO, along with the CEOs of CVS Health, Aetna, and Centene, all hired local police to patrol their personal properties in late December.
Mr. Thompson was killed Dec. 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where UnitedHealth Group was hosting its annual investor day conference. Following the arrest of the now-charged suspect, Luigi Mangione, officers recovered a handwritten manifesto outlining Mr. Mangione's motivations and mindset, in which he expressed disdain for corporate America and the healthcare industry. Investigators also discovered the words "deny," "defend," and "depose" written on shell casings at the crime scene.
Mr. Mangione is facing both state and federal charges in the murder of Mr. Thompson, with his next court appearances scheduled for February.
Some healthcare organizations and their employees have faced harassment and violent threats since the shooting: A Florida woman was arrested and charged after telling a Blue Cross Blue Shield employee "Delay, deny, depose. You people are next" following a denied claim; an HCA Healthcare sign was vandalized in Nashville with the words "deny," "defend," and "depose;" and a Las Vegas man was arrested after threatening to "shoot up" a Molina Healthcare building.
Following the shooting, health systems and insurers quickly tightened security around their executives and removed biographical information online or moved conferences to virtual formats.
"[Brian] devoted his time to help make the health system work better for all the people we are privileged to serve. He would dive in with passion and caring to find solutions and improve experiences, whether for an individual consumer, an employer or a public health agency," UnitedHealth Group's CEO, Andrew Witty, said Jan. 16 during the company's first investor call since the murder.
"Healthcare in every country is complex, and the solutions are not simple, but you should expect this company to continue to work at it, finding what is needed, developing solutions, bringing those solutions to scale and making a positive impact on the lives of millions of people," he said.