On Dec. 4, 2024, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in New York City on his way to a meeting. The alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, fled to Altoona, PA, where he was spotted by a McDonald’s employee on Dec. 9 and reported to the police. Mangione was arrested and put on trial for the killing of Thompson, pleading not guilty.
The case highlights important issues for Americans: healthcare system flaws, class crises, and the wage gap. Whether Mangione is considered a villain or hero, the way America operates is not the way it always should.
Flaws within America’s Healthcare System
One growing issue in regard to Mangione’s case is America’s Healthcare System, most notably littered with high costs and feeds that many Americans have trouble affording.
Additionally, the U.S. runs on a capitalistic healthcare system, meaning that medical centers are owned by shareholders and investors. This means their primary goal is making a profit, rather than giving everyone access to healthcare. Some states have made steps toward universal healthcare, however, the U.S. is the only developed country to operate under this system.
“We’re a for-profit healthcare system,” AP Government teacher Andrew Merritt said. “And when you start the goal of a healthcare company, the ultimate goal is to profit. And so there’s costs associated with that. We’re the only nation in the world, only industrialized nation, that operates this way. And when my life, or your life, or anybody’s life, is at the whim of somebody sitting in the office going, ’Well, yeah, they should get this, or they shouldn’t get this.’ Our system is broken.”
More specifically, a big problem is access to insulin for diabetics. Although the Biden Administration capped insulin at $35 for some Americans, making it more affordable, many people believe insulin should be free for the 38.4 million people (11.6%) in the U.S. with diabetes.
“It’s like an EpiPen or an inhaler,” Merritt said. “Diabetics die without insulin. To me, [free insulin] is a no-brainer, but there’s a number of pharmaceuticals and procedures that people need to live, and it shouldn’t be determined whether I have the money to live or not… I don’t think anybody charges us for air yet, but we die without air.”
However, the largest issue for many people is surrounding the denial rates of many healthcare providers/insurers, specifically the denial of care from UnitedHealthcare. The average denial rate by insurance companies is already a high 16%, but from UnitedHealthcare specifically, it’s a staggering 32%. Many Americans showing support for Mangione cited their own struggle with UnitedHealthcare in the past, which may have led to the death of a loved one.
Many people believe in free healthcare for all, however, it’s easier said than done to fix these issues. The capitalist ideologies that the United States runs on make it difficult for major changes to be made to the healthcare system, as those changes would alter firmly established interests that make a capitalist society capitalist.
Student Government President Luca Snyder agrees with moving to universal healthcare but acknowledges the discourse that would arise from the switch. “As we consider how liberal our government should be, and how much free health care should be given out, it then comes up against how much we care about capitalism within American society,” Snyder said.
CEO vs. Average American
It’s no secret that CEOs make absurd amounts of money, especially compared to the average person. According to a study done by the Economic Policy Institute in 2023, on average, CEOs make 290 times more than an employee. The pay disparity is clear; however, it isn’t necessarily justified, as CEOs primarily wouldn’t work more than an average employee.
Merritt touched on this. “They [CEOs] don’t have to worry about it because I’m sure everything they get they don’t pay anything for. He’s head of UnitedHealthcare. They don’t pay anything for their health care,” he said.
All over the internet, comment sections and posts defending Mangione are growing, and the term “class consciousness” is becoming a prominent buzzword entering the minds of many Americans.
Class consciousness, as defined by Britannica, is “the self-understanding of members of a social class.” This means that people understand where they, and where others, lie within a society regarding social class. This may lead them to have negative views of a class higher than them because of inherited differences between them and their lifestyles.
Mangione and Thompson represent the American frustration, with Thompson symbolizing the healthcare giants and Mangione for the American people. Merritt disagrees with the killer’s actions but understands the reasoning as a citizen.
“I understand the frustration, [but it] doesn’t give the guy, no, you don’t murder people, you just don’t do that. But I understand the frustration that goes along, especially with healthcare,” Merritt said. “I’m not surprised that it happened. It’s sad that it happened, but I’m not surprised.”
Snyder shared Merritt’s sentiment about the complications that come along with this case. “I think immediately anything that has to do with gun violence automatically goes into a place of, ‘Why do we live in a world where that is possible, like, why do we have these things available to us where we can harm each other so permanently?’” Snyder said.
Mangione’s arrest in Altoona brought this case from being more global to more local news. “First when finding out that he was found in Pennsylvania, I think that was the biggest reaction,” Snyder said. “Once it becomes part of our state and part of our central region, it becomes something even closer to you and something that you need to have a thought on, or need to have in terms of impact.”
In such a divided nation, especially following the 2024 election when Donald Trump was elected to a second term, very little news unifies both Democrats and Republicans. However, in the case of Luigi Mangione, both political parties across the nation sympathized more with Mangione than with Thompson. It’s impossible to rationalize the actions of the killer, and although his protest was violent and wrong, it’s simple to see what he’s protesting and why.
What This Means for Students
Although students may not feel directly impacted by the events that unfolded, it certainly brings into light the issues that need changing, issues that students may face once they graduate.
Merritt explained how student debt is one obstacle students may face. “As you leave, you’re going to go to universities, you know, you’re going to probably graduate in debt of some level, and oftentimes, there’s a thing called ‘job lock’… where because you have debts to pay back…you’re going to take the first job you get offered,” Merritt said. “If you remove the burden of health care from the equation, you then have choice; ‘I don’t need to take that job. I want to take the lower paying job because I’m going to enjoy it more, but I don’t have to worry about my health care costs.’”
With any current event, it’s important to stay informed.
“I think, as always, make sure that you know the truth about things that are happening and spend your time thinking about the big things in the news before you start talking about them, so that you’re able to share what you actually believe, and so that you’re able to so that you’re able to listen more appropriately,” Snyder stressed. “Not everyone spends the time to think, and all of us don’t think a lot of the time, and we just have to remind ourselves to think and to read and to listen.”
Discussing issues like these is vital for progress to be made in our government so that we can live our best lives, lives that are focused on positively contributing to society and aren’t focused on covering a medical bill. It’s necessary to remain informed about current events in order to solve problems like these in the future.
