A banner hanging from an overpass along the southbound lane of I-83 reads: “Deny Defend Depose Health Care 4 All.”
Lloyd Vos | Baltimore Sun | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Major insurance stocks have fallen more than 6% since their closes last Tuesday, the day before the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance branch, in downtown Manhattan.
That includes UnitedHealth, CFS health And Cignawhich operate three of the country's largest private health insurers. Thompson, 50, led UnitedHealthcare, the largest private payer of health insurance benefits in the US
Luigi Mangione, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Thompson outside the Hilton hotel in downtown Manhattan early Wednesday last week as the CEO was on his way to UnitedHealth Group's investor day. Investigators have said Mangione was a critic of the health care industry, a view some Americans sympathized with online in the days after Thompson's death.
The companies' stock performance appears to be a response to “renewed rhetoric” condemning insurers' business models of becoming “incredibly profitable at different times of the year at the expense of some patients.” healthcare equity strategist, said in an interview.
He noted that it is not a new theme in the industry, which many Americans blame for their rising health care costs.
“I think the reaction from investors is, 'Do we want to own this class of stocks if there is renewed negative focus on the sector?'” Holz said.
UnitedHealthcare, like other major insurers, has faced lawsuits and criticism from regulators, lawmakers and patients alike for allegedly denying claims to maximize their profits. Americans have criticized insurance companies for, among other things, denied coverage for services or treatments, unexpected bills, high out-of-pocket costs and the dizzying complexity of navigating coverage.
While backlash against the sector has increased since the shooting, Holz said the negative stock reaction is likely to be “fairly short-lived.” He added that he does not expect insurance companies to make material changes to their policies in response to the killing.
“Do I think companies are proactively doing something different based on this? No,” Holz said.
Booking photo of Luigi Mangione in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Source: PA Department of Corrections
New York prosecutors charged Mangione with manslaughter, criminal possession of a loaded handgun and other crimes on Monday evening, hours after his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The charges in New York followed Mangione's first court appearance in Pennsylvania on separate weapons and forgery counts.
Mangione, a private school valedictorian and Ivy League graduate who belongs to an influential Maryland family, was held without bail after his arraignment Monday night.
During a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Mangione declined to waive his right to fight his extradition to New York City. A judge denied Mangione's bail and temporarily sent him back to a Pennsylvania prison.
At the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying handwritten pages that criticized the U.S. health care industry and mentioned UnitedHealthcare, law enforcement officials told NBC News.
“I apologize for any conflict or trauma, but it had to be done. Honestly, these parasites just needed it,” Mangione wrote, NBC reported.
Authorities are still investigating the motive for the shooting, which “will emerge as this investigation continues to unfold in the coming weeks and months,” New York City Police Chief Jessica Tisch told NBC's “TODAY” show on Tuesday. But she noted that Mangione's note had “anti-corporatist sentiments, and a lot of problems with the health care sector.”
