“Deny, defend, and depose” is a slogan frequently used to characterize insurer methods to avoid paying claims, and it is echoed in a statement left at the scene of an insurance executive’s deadly shooting.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press Thursday that the three phrases were printed on the ammunition used by a masked shooter who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. They are comparable to the terms “delay, deny, defend,” which some lawyers use to explain how insurers refuse to pay for services, and the title of a book published in 2010 that was quite critical of the sector.
Regarding the language and any relationship between them and the popular term, police have not made any formal comments. However, outrage on social media and elsewhere has been triggered by Thompson’s shooting and the inscriptions on the ammo, reflecting Americans’ growing dissatisfaction with the expense and difficulty of receiving medical treatment.
The public was asked to help identify the person in the pictures that the New York Police Department posted Thursday morning. According to the police, the individual is wanted for interrogation in relation to Thompson’s shooting death.
The New York City Police Department has released this photo of a guy who is wanted for interrogation in relation to the investigation into the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (AP via the New York City Police Department)AP
As previously stated by NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, investigators found a cellphone in the alleyway the shooter escaped via and multiple 9 mm round casings outside the hotel.
Numerous surveillance cameras in that area of the city recorded the murder as well as the actions of the gunman in the minutes leading up to and following the incident.
According to a second law enforcement official briefed on the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing search, New York City police searched at least two hostels on Manhattan’s Upper West Side Thursday morning after receiving a tip that the suspected shooter might have stayed at one of the residences.
An staffer told the AP that two cops showed up at the Kama Central Park guesthouse with a picture of the gunman and asked whether anyone recognized him. The employee claimed that they didn’t, and the investigators departed. Police had visited the scene on Thursday, according to a staff member at the neighboring hostel HI New York City, but they would not elaborate.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that although investigators had not yet determined a motive, the shooting was not an isolated violent incident. According to her, the suspect seemed to wait for his chosen target despite the fact that many others passed him.
Delay, deny, defend has become a catchphrase for those who criticize insurance. The phrases describe how insurers deny claims, delay payment on medical claims, and explain their actions.
Jay Feinman’s 2010 book, Delay, Deny, Defend, explores the ways in which insurance respond to claims.
What connection does the expression have to UnitedHealthcare?
As one of the biggest health insurers in the country, UnitedHealthcare covered over 49 million Americans and earned over $281 billion in revenue last year. In recent years, lawmakers, physicians, and patients have frequently criticized UnitedHealthcare and its competitors for limiting access to care or rejecting claims.
Insurance companies are increasingly intervening with even regular care, according to critics, which can lead to delays that, in certain situations, may reduce a patient’s chances of survival or even recovery.
Why are insurers being criticized?
Prior authorizations, which require an insurer to approve surgery or therapy before it occurs, have caused a great deal of annoyance for both doctors and patients.
The insurer’s prior authorization refusal rate for certain Medicare Advantage patients has increased in recent years, according to a report released in October that named UnitedHealthcare. Competitors Humana and CVS were also included in the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report.
According to insurers, strategies like prior authorization are vital to reduce unneeded care and aid in containing the skyrocketing costs of healthcare.
The coverage of care is not the only source of frustration. Many times, expensive breakthrough drugs that help with obesity or reduce Alzheimer’s disease are either not covered at all or have coverage limits.
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