Now that Luigi Mangione has been detained by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as a suspect in the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the McDonald’s, where an employee identified him, is getting a thorough clobbering from social media users on X and Yelp! The fact that people are angry over his likely arrest tells you something about the state of healthcare in this country.
According to the Commonwealth Fund, three companies—Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom — have been given high marks for their healthcare systems. The U.S., however, is way below other countries on the list. In a survey of nine countries, the fund concluded:
“The U.S. continues to be in a class by itself in the underperformance of its health care sector. While the other nine countries differ in the details of their systems and in their performance on domains, unlike the U.S., they all have found a way to meet their residents’ most basic health care needs, including universal coverage.”
Forbes found that United Healthcare denies more claims than any other healthcare provider. It noted:
“When it comes to denying claims, multiple reports suggest that UHC, which is the country’s largest health insurer and serves some 50 million people, is an industry leader, with a rate nearly double the industry average. A recent Senate report slammed the company for denying nursing care to patients recovering from falls and strokes on its Medicare Advantage plans, and it currently faces a class action lawsuit for its use of AI algorithms to automatically refuse payment.’
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
So it’s no wonder that people are upset at the state of healthcare in this country. It’s also no surprise that many people are excoriating McDonald’s and the employee who outed Mangione.
@Deviboiii is one among many who had something to say.
The McDonalds that the alleged #UnitedHealthcareAssassin was arrested at is currently being reviewed bombed on google. Please mention this in the documentary
@netflix
The McDonalds that the alleged #UnitedHealthcareAssassin was arrested at is currently being reviewed bombed on google. Please mention this in the documentary @netflix pic.twitter.com/vmJKIOKvEF
— pro gamer (for real) (@deviboiii) December 9, 2024
@MarinPolitical observed:
“70% of Americans surveyed expressed lack of remorse for the “Insurance Adjuster” Luigi and decried the health insurance industry in general.”
70% of Americans surveyed expressed lack of remorse for the "Insurance Adjuster" Luigi and decried the health insurance industry in general. https://t.co/vNHsJRHssx
— Marin Political Alliance (@MarinPolitical) December 9, 2024
@GLPmuse quipped:
“Those SOBs only make 7 an hr, why tf are they snitching”
Those SOBs only make 7 an hr, why tf are they snitching
— OG Lady Petite | evil era🗡️ (@GLPmuse) December 9, 2024
@daddyLikeydummy pointedly observed:
“him getting ratted out by a McDonald’s employee is S rank irony. to possibly be on the cusp of class consciousness and then have one of the lowest paid people in the country fucking Judas the guy that slayed a giant (for what is essentially chump change to those people)”
him getting ratted out by a McDonald’s employee is S rank irony. to possibly be on the cusp of class consciousness and then have one of the lowest paid people in the country fucking Judas the guy that slayed a giant (for what is essentially chump change to those people)
— stolitz pining era | MASTERMIND SPOILERS (@daddylikeydummy) December 9, 2024
@devilboiii made other salient observations:
him getting ratted out by a McDonald’s employee is S rank irony. to possibly be on the cusp of class consciousness and then have one of the lowest paid people in the country fucking Judas the guy that slayed a giant (for what is essentially chump change to those people)
— stolitz pining era | MASTERMIND SPOILERS (@daddylikeydummy) December 9, 2024
Mangione acted alone, but he carried with him the frustrations of millions of Americans who the U.S. healthcare system has wronged. The system is badly broken and it needs to be fixed. Perhaps by allegedly shooting Thompson, he was making a statement.
Whatever his intentions were, I hope CEOs are paying attention.
Featured image via screengrab