• @Arbiter
    link
    17822 days ago

    “Please don’t kill me. :(“ Begs UnitedHealth CEO

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      9722 days ago

      Not really, he’s doubling down:

      “Many of you knew Brian … he devoted his time to help make the health system work better for all of the people we’re privileged to serve.”

        • @Iceman
          link
          English
          1522 days ago

          So it’s a true statement in the sense that they made the healthcare system better at extracting profit from their costumers to serve the shareholders. Death and suffering is just a method. Andrew Witty, what a soulless shit.

      • @Arbiter
        link
        4422 days ago

        Just trying to reframe the narrative.

        • @tburkhol
          link
          3722 days ago

          “The insurance companies are the good guys, fighting against outrageous hospital charges, doctors fraudulently demanding excessive tests and care, and odious government regulations.”

      • @orclev
        link
        2822 days ago

        for all of the people we’re privileged to serve

        This is Corporate America slight of hand, they think the people they serve are the shareholders, not their customers. Their customers are an operating cost to them and they’ll do what they can to keep that cost down so they can maximize their profits.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        321 days ago

        Many of you knew Brian … he devoted his time to help make the health system work better for all of the privileged we serve.”

        Fixed it.

      • @jj4211
        link
        221 days ago

        Nah, he’s trying to promote a narrative of “there are bad guys in the system, but not us, look at those drug company CEOs over there please… they are the ones really screwing you…”

      • @gaael
        link
        1
        edit-2
        21 days ago

        wrote the same thing before reading the other comments ^^

  • @DirkMcCallahan
    link
    14422 days ago

    “The system needs to function better,” says the figurehead of a completely unnecessary middleman.

  • Flying Squid
    link
    12622 days ago

    Cool. Shut down your company and tell everyone else in your network to do the same.

    • @RedditWanderer
      link
      4722 days ago

      But then who will protect us from “unnecessary care”? He’s just trying not to get shot

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        322 days ago

        There is actually a shred of truth in that.

        The insurance company is supposed to watch dog and make sure that the doctor’s office is doing the right thing.

        Since the average patient doesn’t know what the hell the doctor’s supposed to be doing anyway, capitalism makes for some pretty shitty health practices. Like the $60 tylenols.

        To eliminate private insurance you also need to create oversight and limits on the healthcare side of things too.

        I worked in IT in health insurance years ago, those mom and pop doctor’s offices would submit the same bill six or seven times back to back. Our system at the time had no ability to de-doop so they just kept getting payday after payday until we caught on.

        Not all health care providers are good people either.

        • Flying Squid
          link
          721 days ago

          The insurance company is supposed to watch dog and make sure that the doctor’s office is doing the right thing.

          I’m trying to think of the name of something we could call an alternative option to that… maybe something like The Blederal Blovernment.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            421 days ago

            Absolutely, many governments in many countries do an absolutely adequate job at managing healthcare soup to nuts.

        • Lemminary
          link
          521 days ago

          Would patients fall that much into debt if regular doctors were setting the prices, though? The invoices are quite outrageous across the board in the US as it is. After all, the blame lies on the MBAs who are the experts at juicing the system and not the MDs who inevitably get dragged into. I’d argue the great majority of MDs actually sympathize with patients since they are the ones who signed up to help people in the first place and I’ve befriended a handful of them who I can point to as examples.

          At least where I live, this balance is somewhat managed by the competition between the public vs private sectors. If the public one is failing you, you can always opt for a private one or vice-versa. I’ve done both and each has its benefits and shortcomings. But, mind you, this is a system without insurance at its core as a consequence of the universal care that we have.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            321 days ago

            The problem is that the whole health care can’t be run by the doctors. You need the might of a corporation or a government with a tax stream income to be able to afford the equipment. Well outfitted hospitals are mind-bogglingly expensive. So the problem becomes how to not attach the greed to the healthcare, But still process the billions of dollars required to set up and maintain institutions.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    7422 days ago

    While lower prices and improved services can be good for consumers and patients, Witty said, they can “threaten revenue streams for organizations that depend on charging more for care.”

    are they a health insurance or a revenue stream insurance?

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      43
      edit-2
      22 days ago

      are they a health insurance or a revenue stream insurance?

      Come now, I think we already have that answer.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        321 days ago

        In other words, productivity gains increase poverty. Congratulations on owning your most powerful smart phone yet, but now a bean and rice burrito from a fast food place is over 6 USD.

    • Larry13
      link
      1021 days ago

      That has to be one of the most tone deaf and evil (the banal greedy kind) of things I’ve ever heard.

      While law enforcement can be good for citizens and society, Capone said, they can “threaten revenue streams for organizations that depend on doing crime.”

      Same vibe right?

    • @Manifish_Destiny
      link
      722 days ago

      You have your answer under capitalism. Unfortunately good healthcare and late capitalism seem to not be too compatible.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          421 days ago

          did you know commas are baby parentheses that were picked before they were full grown?

          also, threatening healthcare CEOs lives might be the only practical way back to humane healthcare and that should scare the shit out of everybody that yes in fact things are that bad

  • @iAvicenna
    link
    6422 days ago

    wow he really said this?

    “Participants in the system,” he said, derive benefit from high health care costs. While lower prices and improved services can be good for consumers and patients, Witty said, they can “threaten revenue streams for organizations that depend on charging more for care.”

    Yes this basic human right could be cheap or even free, but then how would shareholders make more money exploiting it?

    • Flying Squid
      link
      1521 days ago

      He’s also just straight up lying. I’m a participant in the system with chronic health issues. I would have benefited more from never going to see a doctor and kept my family out of debt than what I ended up doing.

      • @postmateDumbass
        link
        3
        edit-2
        20 days ago

        Healing patients would “threaten revenue streams for organizations that depend on charging more for care.”

        They prefer the endless treatment model.

        So by extension, creating sick people is akin to opening a new account. (Aside: A good task for other parts of the institutional investors portfollio) And nobody wants to close a customer account.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      1021 days ago

      Bro literally said,that they don’t care about anything but profits and are willing to kill people for this.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      621 days ago

      His entire business model is based on reducing the efficiency of health care spending and he is directly incentivized to maximize profits by minimizing health care spending efficiency.

      • @MothmanDelorian
        link
        621 days ago

        US health insurers literally offer zero social benefit. They should not exist as the entire industry in harmful rent seeking.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          521 days ago

          The concept of insurance makes sense - pooling risk so that everyone can share a little pain all the time, so that unlikely but catastrophic events don’t wipe individuals out. Making this arrangement for-profit is asinine.

          • @ajoebyanyothername
            link
            121 days ago

            Insurance generally, yes. But health insurance, no, especially when it could be funded by taxes like in other countries and still have that same element of shared risk, but without the perverse incentive to let people die just to create a little more profit for the precious shareholders.

            Which I appreciate is what you said, but I thought it bore repeating. Other forms of insurance I suspect would be harder to nationalise, but in theory there’s no reason they couldn’t.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              220 days ago

              Directly government-funded healthcare and government-run single payer insurance are essentially the same thing. There’s some rationale for keeping the government-run single payer system (whether you call it insurance or not) at arm’s length from the sitting government to prevent too much political chaotic nonsense each time another government takes power, but they achieve the same things in terms of health care delivery and risk management.

    • @jj4211
      link
      121 days ago

      Sounds like he’s trying to cast everyone else but the insurance companies as the bad organizations, and that they will be taking measures to make that more clear to the people.

      In short “don’t shoot us, shoot these other guys if you have to shoot someone!”

  • Avid Amoeba
    link
    fedilink
    49
    edit-2
    22 days ago

    Agreed. Ask the government to take you and the other big insurers over, and fire your overhead asses.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    4722 days ago

    “We only do reprehensible things because we’re allowed to. We would totally be ethical if forced to!”

  • BoofStroke
    link
    fedilink
    English
    4222 days ago

    Here’s an idea. Take out the pieces that inflate costs, provide no actual healthcare, and make ridiculous profits.

  • IninewCrow
    link
    fedilink
    English
    39
    edit-2
    22 days ago

    Luigi Mangione did more for the American health care system than any health insurance CEO. Just to clarify, killing a man is deplorable but the fact that his actions sparked these debates and brought them to everyone’s attention should make everyone aware of what his actions caused.

    • NoneOfUrBusiness
      link
      fedilink
      2722 days ago

      killing a man is deplorable

      Killing a cold blooded murderer is… well, even if you don’t believe it’s justice it’s definitely not something to cry about.

      • @nieminen
        link
        1322 days ago

        I’ve seen arguments for it being self defense, especially if you have united insurance.

        They’ve “legally” killed thousands of people through paperwork.

        Not to mention CEO has to be the most replaceable job ever. It’s the one job I’m 100% chatgpt could do better, and save these companies millions every year.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          421 days ago

          The problem with that is you can’t easily sCapEgOat ChatGPT. No one would feel satisfied when they tell us “because of the company image after this recent scandal, CEO GPT will be replaced with CEO Copilot.”

          • @nieminen
            link
            321 days ago

            This is such a good point. That’s always the story. Company does something horrific - almost certainly at the behest of investors. People call them out for it, CEO gets “fired”, company takes no accountability, and they place another CEO that will tow the investor’s line.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    3622 days ago

    They say this because…

    … anyone?

    That’s right, Timmy, it’s because they want to execute a large merger once Trump is in power.

    • paraphrand
      link
      English
      28
      edit-2
      22 days ago

      “We’ll be able to improve efficiency, reduce duplicative effort and increase profits.”

      “And lower rates?”

      “What?”

  • @Freefall
    link
    3321 days ago

    I hear Mario bros music…

  • JaggedRobotPubes
    link
    English
    2722 days ago

    “Somebody involved in it, perhaps towards the top, should do something about that”, he continued.

    • d00phy
      link
      English
      1822 days ago

      “I mean, not me. I only just got this job. Still finding my way. But someone should definitely do something. Gonna be a lot of work figuring out what should be done. It’s just so complicated. We’re going to have to invent some way to make sure everyone can access competent and affordable healthcare. How do you do that? Where do you even start? What a monumental task. But think of the accomplishment if we could do that. Think of the example we’d be setting for so many other nations. We’d be pretty great. I mean we already are pretty great, but we’d be better. Man, we’d be awesome.” At this point he’s gone, like a poor person dreaming about what they’d do if they won the lottery.