‘Wanted’ posters with healthcare executives’ faces appear on New York streets

New York: ”Wanted” posters with the names and faces of healthcare executives have appeared on the streets of New York, while hit-lists with images of bullets are circulating online with warnings that industry leaders should be afraid.

The apparent targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the menacing threats that followed have sent a shudder through corporate America and the healthcare industry in particular, leading to increased security for executives and some workers.

“Wanted” posters threaten healthcare executives on the streets of New York.

In the week since the brazen shooting, health insurers have removed information about their top executives from company websites, cancelled in-person meetings with shareholders and advised all employees to work from home temporarily.

An internal New York Police Department bulletin warned this week that the online vitriol that has followed the shooting could signal an immediate “elevated threat”.

United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.Credit: AP

Police fear the December 4 shooting could “inspire a variety of extremists and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence,” said the bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.

“Wanted” posters pasted to parking meters and construction site fences in Manhattan included photos of healthcare executives and the words “Deny, defend, depose” – similar to a phrase scrawled on bullets found near Thompson’s body and echoing those used by insurance industry critics.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette, told NBC News last week that he told her some people had been threatening him and suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.

Investigators believe the shooting suspect, Luigi Mangione, may have been motivated by hostility towards health insurers. They are studying his writings about a previous back injury and his disdain for America’s corporations and healthcare system.

Mangione’s lawyer has cautioned against prejudging the case. Mangione, 26, has remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested on Monday. Manhattan prosecutors are working to bring him to New York to face a murder charge.

A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, said this week it was working with law enforcement to ensure a safe work environment and reinforce security guidelines and building access policies.

Something of a folk hero: A poster depicting Luigi Mangione outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.Credit: AP

The company has taken down the photos, names and biographies of its top executives from its websites, a spokesperson said. Other organisations, including CVS, the parent company for insurance giant Aetna, have taken similar actions.

Government health insurance provider Centene Corporation has announced its investor day will be held online rather than in person.

Medica, a Minnesota-based non-profit healthcare firm, said last week it was temporarily closing its six offices for security reasons and would have its employees work from home.

Heightened security measures will probably make healthcare companies and their leaders less accessible to policyholders, said former Cigna executive Wendell Potter.

“And understandably so, with this act of violence. There’s no assurance that this won’t happen again,” said Potter, now an advocate for healthcare reform.

Private security firms and consultants have been in high demand, fielding calls almost immediately after the shooting from companies across a range of industries, including manufacturing and finance.

Companies have long faced security risks and grappled with how far to take precautions for high-profile executives. But these recent threats sparked by Thompson’s killing should not be ignored, said Dave Komendat, a former security chief for Boeing who heads his own risk-management company.

“The tone and tenor is different. The social reaction to this tragedy is different. And so I think that people need to take this seriously,” Komendat said.

Hours after the shooting, Komendat said he was on a call with dozens of chief security officers from big corporations, and there have been many similar meetings since, hosted by security groups or law enforcement agencies assessing the threats.

AP

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