5 ms·

Moderators Delete Reddit Thread as Doctors Torch Dead UnitedHealthcare CEO

69 points by truegoric 2y ago

lawlessone 2y ago
United Health deleted all comments and disallowed commenting under their LinkedIn post mourning his death. Because it was full of people talking about their personal experiences of having their claims denied.
- hilux 2y ago
  Focusing on peoples' insensitivity allows the company to distract from the bigger point: why do so many people feel this way? Bro was also in trouble for alleged insider trading.
quantified 2y ago
Elsewhere in today's headlines: Anthem Blue Cross limiting anaesthesia. Surgery takes too long? Take the pain. And a for-profit insurer expects sympathy? UHC stock is up 7% on the year, so yay them.
- bko 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - quantified 2y ago
    Yes, I do think that the health care system is bad because of bad actors. I don't think the badness is uniquely concentrated in the health insurance side, but it's certainly there. If someone had assassinated Pharma Bro I think the outpouring of "f the drug companies" would be roughly as strong.
  - hilux 2y ago
    Other rich (and not-so-rich) countries have vastly better health outcomes than the US, and at much lower cost per capita. If (as you point out) large US healthcare providers have low profit margins, it's because they are very inefficient, and they drastically overpay themselves. These are problems to identify and fix. I agree that "the system" is broken, but all the evidence is that these bad corporate actors try to keep the system going to enrich themselves, in every industry. Prisons, schools, pharma, food, you name it ...
    - quantified 2y ago
      Heck, eyeglasses are health aids. Luxxotica uses its near-monopoly to charge $800 for simple plastic outlines.
    - goku12 2y ago
      I'm a citizen of a developing nation who was a resident of a western nation for a while. The difference is drastic. Here, most regular treatments cost 50$ or less. You don't need to wait hours in emergency or days to get the doctor's appointment. (Doctor's appointments are available on a few hours notice and emergency care is near instant). Public hospitals are a bit shabby and uncomfortable, but they're a very affordable (sometimes free) and effective option for poor people. The best private hospitals have staff to accompany you around and guide you through the process. All costs are disclosed upfront and they often help you secure aid. Blood work and other tests are treated as emergency requirements and are returned to you in a few hours (except for tests like blood culture). This is so much different from the west that we were told to take an airline back to my country if a serious medical situation arose. Even stranger is the fact that there is a new trend called 'medical tourism' where foreigners come here for affordable and quick treatments. It's a sobering reminder of how much value and affordability can be destroyed by the greed of powerful corporations.
      - hilux 2y ago
        I'm American, and I've traveled to South Korea for surgery. I'll do it again (or to another country) the next time I have to pay a major medical expense out-of-pocket. There is no comparison.
- jsheard 2y ago
  Anthem just walked that back. Probably not out of the goodness of their hearts, but because their execs saw the public sharpening their guillotines and got cold feet.
y33t 2y ago
The real story with this assassination is how broadly popular it is across political, race, sex and even class lines, and how the MSM is completely ignoring that angle.
- edavison1 2y ago
  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/nyregion/social-media-insurance-industry-brian-thompson.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/nyregion/social-media-ins...
  - araes 2y ago
    Archive.is version NYTimes story for paywall [1] [1] https://archive.is/DiRbs https://archive.is/DiRbs
  - Analemma_ 2y ago
    I'm not exaggerating for hyperbole: literally every single time I've ever seen a comment online of the form "why isn't the MSM talking about X", I've clicked over to the homepage of the New York Times and seen X right there.
    - edavison1 2y ago
      Yeah it's unfortunate that we're in this place culturally but seems like just using the phrase suggests a lack of engagement with it so I guess it makes sense in some wacky way.
- bdangubic 2y ago
  that is most definitely nowhere near the "real story" - it is not even in the top-1000 of the "real story" not just because it is not true but because it is not a story :)
- netsharc 2y ago
  It feels like living through the 2019 Joker movie, everyone's lost a sense of what's decent and what's not. At the risk of derailing the conversation, people are even arguing whether dropping bombs on women and children is humane or not, and far too many are finding excuses to say it's fine. Meanwhile the assassin needs a name.. the Midtown Hilton Shooter? The 3D Killer? (since there were 3 bullets found with D-words written on them). Don't be greedy, or The 3D-Killer will go after you next!
more_corn 2y ago
Speculation regarding the motive might actually be correct: “ Law enforcement officials found the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” on shell casings recovered from the crime scene”
- wmeredith 2y ago
  That's absolutely remarkable. Source? EDIT: I see it's in the source article for this post. Thanks.
kristianp 2y ago
Reddit is too easily censored by biased community moderators. Instead of a flagging model, comments and threads can be completely removed, with no evidence of their having existed.
- squigz 2y ago
  Why should community moderators not be able to determine what is or isn't allowed in their communities?
  - add-sub-mul-div 2y ago
    It could go either way. If the purpose of the community is to benefit the moderators, they should have more control to censor. If the purpose of the community is to benefit the users, they should have more freedom in what they're allowed to say.
    - squigz 2y ago
      This is a rather 1-dimensional view on community moderation. The purpose of a community is (generally speaking) to provide a place for people to engage and interact with each other, not to 'benefit' any one particular group of people. Users should have the freedom to discuss what they want, yes - within reason, as long as it doesn't jeopardize the core goal of the community. Moderators need to use their best judgement and knowledge of the community to determine what meets that criteria.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - yatopifo 2y ago
    They should. However, they should not be allowed to misrepresent their rules. I know a few subreddits that claim to be unbiased (to attract subscribers) but engage in highly selective moderation. While it’s ok to do so, such subreddits should be forced to explicitly declare their leanings and moderation policies in the description.
ChrisArchitect 2y ago
Related: Americans React to UnitedHealthcare CEO's Murder: 'My Empathy Is Out of Network' https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42327272 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42327272
themaninthedark 2y ago
I would like to take a second to say, it is horrible for anyone to lose their life and a terrible tragedy for their family, especially around the holidays. That being said, I think that both the assassination and the public's reaction to it show very well the shift that we have had regarding business leaders in the US. In prior times, these people were often pillars of community and something like this would be unthinkable instead of celebrated. Edit add: Reddit's actions don't surprise me in the least as they want to appear advertiser friendly.
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  What I -am- curious to see is how NYPD's response and resources in response to this compares to the average homicide in NYC.
  - justinclift 2y ago
    Also curious how many businesses in that area had problems with their CCTV cameras around that time? "Sorry officer, it looks like the camera wasn't recording" type of thing.
  - fred_is_fred 2y ago
    It would be naive to think that it will be the same. This one has too much media attention.
  - themaninthedark 2y ago
    I am sure the response and resources will be exactly the same, and if he is caught the DA will file the same charges with the same recommendations and the Judge will apply the same standards. Just like the man who attacked Paul Pelosi in San Fransisco had the same standards applied to him. I am glad that the state of CA is so strict on crime that a first time offender(who has mental health issues) convicted of burglary, false imprisonment, threatening a family member of a public official, kidnapping, and threatening a witness is given life in prison. Or the police response when someone is pushed and their cellphone is stolen. >Boxer, 80, was assaulted in the Jack London Square neighborhood. "The assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and jumped in a waiting car. She is thankful that she was not seriously injured," >I am working on the pier in Alameda right across the channel. There were a ton of police cars and a chopper there and I was wondering what the commotion was. https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/oscbxf/comment/h6nmeku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/oscbxf/comment/h6nmek...
jazz9k 2y ago
[flagged]
moomin 2y ago
What we’re seeing here is a huge disconnect between regular human morality and our legal system. Most people regarded him as a mass murderer, but the cops would not act, so a vigilante stepped in.
emilamlom 2y ago
Interestingly, I can't find any of the threads about the UHC CEO on the HN frontpage either. I've gone back 200 posts (around 3-4 days old) and only one loosely related post up. I had to google with "site:ycombinator.com" to find anything.
justinclift 2y ago
On a related note, has anyone read Cory Doctorow's book Radicalized? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalized_(Doctorow_book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalized_(Doctorow_book) It's a collection of 4 novellas, one of which is about: A man becomes embroiled in a dark web network targeting insurance companies after his wife's cancer coverage was declined by their health insurer. Sounds pretty on point, in a "life imitating fiction" kind of way.

69 points by truegoric 2y ago

United Health deleted all comments and disallowed commenting under their LinkedIn post mourning his death. Because it was full of people talking about their personal experiences of having their claims denied.

hilux 2y ago
Focusing on peoples' insensitivity allows the company to distract from the bigger point: why do so many people feel this way? Bro was also in trouble for alleged insider trading.

quantified 2y ago

Elsewhere in today's headlines: Anthem Blue Cross limiting anaesthesia. Surgery takes too long? Take the pain. And a for-profit insurer expects sympathy? UHC stock is up 7% on the year, so yay them.

bko 2y ago
[flagged]
- quantified 2y ago
  Yes, I do think that the health care system is bad because of bad actors. I don't think the badness is uniquely concentrated in the health insurance side, but it's certainly there. If someone had assassinated Pharma Bro I think the outpouring of "f the drug companies" would be roughly as strong.
- hilux 2y ago
  Other rich (and not-so-rich) countries have vastly better health outcomes than the US, and at much lower cost per capita. If (as you point out) large US healthcare providers have low profit margins, it's because they are very inefficient, and they drastically overpay themselves. These are problems to identify and fix. I agree that "the system" is broken, but all the evidence is that these bad corporate actors try to keep the system going to enrich themselves, in every industry. Prisons, schools, pharma, food, you name it ...
  - quantified 2y ago
    Heck, eyeglasses are health aids. Luxxotica uses its near-monopoly to charge $800 for simple plastic outlines.
  - goku12 2y ago
    I'm a citizen of a developing nation who was a resident of a western nation for a while. The difference is drastic. Here, most regular treatments cost 50$ or less. You don't need to wait hours in emergency or days to get the doctor's appointment. (Doctor's appointments are available on a few hours notice and emergency care is near instant). Public hospitals are a bit shabby and uncomfortable, but they're a very affordable (sometimes free) and effective option for poor people. The best private hospitals have staff to accompany you around and guide you through the process. All costs are disclosed upfront and they often help you secure aid. Blood work and other tests are treated as emergency requirements and are returned to you in a few hours (except for tests like blood culture). This is so much different from the west that we were told to take an airline back to my country if a serious medical situation arose. Even stranger is the fact that there is a new trend called 'medical tourism' where foreigners come here for affordable and quick treatments. It's a sobering reminder of how much value and affordability can be destroyed by the greed of powerful corporations.
    - hilux 2y ago
      I'm American, and I've traveled to South Korea for surgery. I'll do it again (or to another country) the next time I have to pay a major medical expense out-of-pocket. There is no comparison.
jsheard 2y ago
Anthem just walked that back. Probably not out of the goodness of their hearts, but because their execs saw the public sharpening their guillotines and got cold feet.

y33t 2y ago

The real story with this assassination is how broadly popular it is across political, race, sex and even class lines, and how the MSM is completely ignoring that angle.

edavison1 2y ago
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/nyregion/social-media-insurance-industry-brian-thompson.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/nyregion/social-media-ins...
- araes 2y ago
  Archive.is version NYTimes story for paywall [1] [1] https://archive.is/DiRbs https://archive.is/DiRbs
- Analemma_ 2y ago
  I'm not exaggerating for hyperbole: literally every single time I've ever seen a comment online of the form "why isn't the MSM talking about X", I've clicked over to the homepage of the New York Times and seen X right there.
  - edavison1 2y ago
    Yeah it's unfortunate that we're in this place culturally but seems like just using the phrase suggests a lack of engagement with it so I guess it makes sense in some wacky way.
bdangubic 2y ago
that is most definitely nowhere near the "real story" - it is not even in the top-1000 of the "real story" not just because it is not true but because it is not a story :)
netsharc 2y ago
It feels like living through the 2019 Joker movie, everyone's lost a sense of what's decent and what's not. At the risk of derailing the conversation, people are even arguing whether dropping bombs on women and children is humane or not, and far too many are finding excuses to say it's fine. Meanwhile the assassin needs a name.. the Midtown Hilton Shooter? The 3D Killer? (since there were 3 bullets found with D-words written on them). Don't be greedy, or The 3D-Killer will go after you next!

more_corn 2y ago

Speculation regarding the motive might actually be correct: “ Law enforcement officials found the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” on shell casings recovered from the crime scene”

wmeredith 2y ago
That's absolutely remarkable. Source? EDIT: I see it's in the source article for this post. Thanks.

kristianp 2y ago

Reddit is too easily censored by biased community moderators. Instead of a flagging model, comments and threads can be completely removed, with no evidence of their having existed.

squigz 2y ago
Why should community moderators not be able to determine what is or isn't allowed in their communities?
- add-sub-mul-div 2y ago
  It could go either way. If the purpose of the community is to benefit the moderators, they should have more control to censor. If the purpose of the community is to benefit the users, they should have more freedom in what they're allowed to say.
  - squigz 2y ago
    This is a rather 1-dimensional view on community moderation. The purpose of a community is (generally speaking) to provide a place for people to engage and interact with each other, not to 'benefit' any one particular group of people. Users should have the freedom to discuss what they want, yes - within reason, as long as it doesn't jeopardize the core goal of the community. Moderators need to use their best judgement and knowledge of the community to determine what meets that criteria.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- yatopifo 2y ago
  They should. However, they should not be allowed to misrepresent their rules. I know a few subreddits that claim to be unbiased (to attract subscribers) but engage in highly selective moderation. While it’s ok to do so, such subreddits should be forced to explicitly declare their leanings and moderation policies in the description.

ChrisArchitect 2y ago

Related: Americans React to UnitedHealthcare CEO's Murder: 'My Empathy Is Out of Network' https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42327272 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42327272

themaninthedark 2y ago

I would like to take a second to say, it is horrible for anyone to lose their life and a terrible tragedy for their family, especially around the holidays. That being said, I think that both the assassination and the public's reaction to it show very well the shift that we have had regarding business leaders in the US. In prior times, these people were often pillars of community and something like this would be unthinkable instead of celebrated. Edit add: Reddit's actions don't surprise me in the least as they want to appear advertiser friendly.

FireBeyond 2y ago
What I -am- curious to see is how NYPD's response and resources in response to this compares to the average homicide in NYC.
- justinclift 2y ago
  Also curious how many businesses in that area had problems with their CCTV cameras around that time? "Sorry officer, it looks like the camera wasn't recording" type of thing.
- fred_is_fred 2y ago
  It would be naive to think that it will be the same. This one has too much media attention.
- themaninthedark 2y ago
  I am sure the response and resources will be exactly the same, and if he is caught the DA will file the same charges with the same recommendations and the Judge will apply the same standards. Just like the man who attacked Paul Pelosi in San Fransisco had the same standards applied to him. I am glad that the state of CA is so strict on crime that a first time offender(who has mental health issues) convicted of burglary, false imprisonment, threatening a family member of a public official, kidnapping, and threatening a witness is given life in prison. Or the police response when someone is pushed and their cellphone is stolen. >Boxer, 80, was assaulted in the Jack London Square neighborhood. "The assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and jumped in a waiting car. She is thankful that she was not seriously injured," >I am working on the pier in Alameda right across the channel. There were a ton of police cars and a chopper there and I was wondering what the commotion was. https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/oscbxf/comment/h6nmeku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/oscbxf/comment/h6nmek...

jazz9k 2y ago

[flagged]

moomin 2y ago

What we’re seeing here is a huge disconnect between regular human morality and our legal system. Most people regarded him as a mass murderer, but the cops would not act, so a vigilante stepped in.

emilamlom 2y ago

Interestingly, I can't find any of the threads about the UHC CEO on the HN frontpage either. I've gone back 200 posts (around 3-4 days old) and only one loosely related post up. I had to google with "site:ycombinator.com" to find anything.

justinclift 2y ago

On a related note, has anyone read Cory Doctorow's book Radicalized? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalized_(Doctorow_book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalized_(Doctorow_book) It's a collection of 4 novellas, one of which is about: A man becomes embroiled in a dark web network targeting insurance companies after his wife's cancer coverage was declined by their health insurer. Sounds pretty on point, in a "life imitating fiction" kind of way.