Summary
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The gunman, who arrived in New York City on November 24th, shot Thompson on December 4th outside a hotel hosting an investor conference.
Investigators believe the gunman, who concealed his identity with a mask, fled the city on a bus, leaving behind a backpack in Central Park.
Well, considering that Americans have to pay for health insurance in one way shape or form, and it likely comes out of their paycheck every month if they get benefits, no. It’s not.
Because we all have to pay an ass load of what we worked for for something we don’t necessarily need at the moment, but when we do, we’d really fucking like to.
In 2012 the total bill a relative got for their heart attack (or maybe stroke, I can’t remember it was bad) was $2m. Had they not had insurance that covered it, that’s how much debt they’d be in. In 2012. Fast forward to now. Yeah, a lot of insurance covers stuff like that. But a lot of people only have the insurance that covers absolutely the bare minimum.
Which is how you end up with people having poor health, subsequent heart attacks, or strokes, etc. Preventative medicine would keep those far rarer than they currently are.
So, no. $50k isn’t a lot. Its an insult. It’s an insult to the $20k/year people pay for something they can’t use. Instead that $20k/year could go to a universal health system where you don’t wait until you end up in the ER to get medical care. It’s an insult to the people who are saddled in medical debt by denied claims. Its an insult to doctors who give the care a patient needs. It’s an insult to the healthy people who understand they aren’t invulnerable.