Australians are saying the same thing about the assassination of US health insurance boss

The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked disturbing reactions around the world, with some Australians claiming they are not surprised by the atrocities due to the nature of the expensive US healthcare system.

Thompson, 50, was shot on December 4 just outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, where he was scheduled to attend an investor meeting.

CCTV footage showed a masked killer approaching Mr Thompson from behind before shooting him and casually walking away from the scene.

Police have since arrested and charged “anti-capitalist” and Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione, 26, over the alleged execution murder of the father of two.

Mr. Thompson joined the health insurer in 2004 and has held multiple leadership positions, including CEO of the company’s government programs division.

The shooting made global headlines, with many Australians saying they were not surprised by the killing.

“There is frustration with the medical and healthcare system in the US and I think it is bubbling out,” one Sydneysider told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Something has to be done. Not necessarily killing people, but I think there needs to be a review.”

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, added that people’s health and medical care are fundamental rights, but something that big companies and insurers exploit for financial gain.

‘There has to be something in it that goes beyond huge corporate profits…’ You have ordinary people on the streets suffering and watching them and their loved ones die,” he said.

He explained that while he was “generally satisfied” with Australia’s healthcare system, he was concerned it could follow the US healthcare system.

Another woman told Daily Mail Australia she believed people saw the killing as a form or ‘retaliation’ for inadequate access to basic health care.

“I think Americans are very angry because their health care system is so disorganized and so many people don’t have access to basic health care, which is really a human right,” she said.

“I think some people have lost track that this was a human being and (Mr. Thompson) had a family and (he) wasn’t the whole decision maker for the whole health care system.

‘In fact, this should be a government problem and tackled at government level for the entire country. One person is not going to be the be all and end all.”

She said while there was scope to improve healthcare in Australia, it was in a “much better state” than in America.

Another Australian man argued that murder was never right, but that the response to the incident was a reflection of the state of America’s healthcare system.

‘A large part of their population is fed up with the way their country is governed. You always hear stories about Americans having to pay a lot of money (for health care),” he said.

‘I went to St. Vincent’s Hospital and there was an American who panicked because he thought he had to pay $40,000 for a check-up. His face was quite shocked when he discovered it was covered.”

Other Australians expressed similar sentiments online, claiming Thompson’s death was a direct result of the way healthcare and insurance companies treat people in America.

“The little guy got pushed too much, now people are fighting back,” one person commented.

A second chimed in: ‘This would certainly happen if your business is effectively dealing with life and death, and your motive is profit and the law does not provide adequate redress or regulation, if that was indeed the motivation.’

A third added that Mangione’s lawyer should “take the entire health insurance industry to court” and argue that the 26-year-old was defending the public against a CEO who profited from “killing and bankrupting” people.

UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in America by market share, was rocked earlier this year by protests over the alleged systematic denial of benefits to patients.

Analysis by ValuePenguin found that UnitedHealthcare denied 32 percent of claims, compared to the industry average for major health insurers of 16 percent.

Mr. Thompson was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s insurance division, reported $281 billion in revenue last year and provided health care to millions of Americans.

The medical giant would report huge revenues and profits for a year before being shot down.

Last year alone, Mr. Thompson received a compensation package of $10.2 million, including $1 million in base salary, cash and stock grants.

Mr. Thompson’s plan was well known, and witnesses have said the suspected gunman even knew which door Thompson would come out of before opening fire.

Authorities arrested Mangione at McDonald’s Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a worker and an elderly patron noticed him and called police.

Mangione spent ten days in Manhattan, staying at a local youth hostel after reportedly fleeing the scene.

When he was arrested, police reportedly found him with a 3D-printed ghost gun similar to the one used in the murder, a silencer, four fake IDs and a manifesto.

The manifesto allegedly showed that Mangione, who was the valedictorian of his school, was angry about the healthcare industry and its profits.

At the murder scene, police also found three live bullets and three bullet casings with the words “depose,” “deny” and “dedefen” written in permanent marker.

Online sleuths made a comparison with the 2010 book of the same name ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’ – which delivers a scathing critique of ‘why insurance companies don’t pay out and what to do about it’.

Mangione was charged with murder by New York officials after he was arrested by police in Pennsylvania.

His other charges include forgery, carrying a weapon without a permit, tampering with documents or identification, carrying “instruments of a crime,” and presenting false identification to law enforcement authorities.

Mangione, who did not enter a plea or receive bail, remains jailed in Pennsylvania. He will appear again in the Blair County Courthouse on December 23.