A message left at the scene of a health insurance executive’s fatal shooting – “deny,” “defend” and “depose” – echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.
The three words were written on the ammunition a masked gunman used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Thursday (Dec 5).
The three words are similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend” – the way some attorneys describe how insurers deny services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book that was highly critical of the industry.
While police have not officially commented on the wording or any connection between them and the common phrase, they released a new security camera picture on Thursday of the man believed to have shot Thompson, 50, at close range outside a Manhattan hotel.
The latest picture, in which the suspect’s face is uncovered and he is smiling or laughing, indicated progress in the manhunt for the man who fled on foot before mounting an electric bike and riding into Central Park.
Based on surveillance video and evidence from the scene, investigators believe the shooter had at least some firearms training and experience with guns and that the weapon was equipped with a silencer, one of the law enforcement officials told AP.
Police have also searched a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side where the suspect is believed to have been staying, CNN reported.
A motive has not yet been publicly identified, but Thompson appears to have been deliberately targeted, according to investigators.
Thompson’s shooting and the messages found on the ammunition have since sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting a deepening frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care.
What does the phrase mean?
“Delay, deny, defend” has become something of a rallying cry for insurance critics. The terms refer to insurers delaying payment on claims, denying claims and defending their actions.
The phrase has been used to describe many types of insurers – auto, property, and health.
“The longer they can delay and deny the claim, the longer they can hold onto their money and they’re not paying it out,” said Lea Keller, managing partner at Lewis and Keller, a North Carolina-based personal-injury law firm.
“Delay, Deny, Defend” is also the title of a 2010 book by Jay Feinman that delves into how insurers handle claims.
“All insurance companies have an incentive to chisel their customers in order to increase profits,” says an excerpt on the book’s website.
How does the phrase relate to UnitedHealthcare?
UnitedHealthcare provides coverage for more than 49 million Americans and brought in more than US$281 billion in revenue last year as one of the nation’s largest health insurers.
But UnitedHealthcare and its rivals have become frequent targets of criticism from doctors, patients and lawmakers in recent years for denying claims or complicating access to care.
Critics say insurers are increasingly interfering with even routine care, causing delays that can, in some cases, hurt a patient’s chances for recovery or even survival.
Lawsuits against UnitedHealthcare
Doctors and patients have become particularly frustrated with prior authorisations, which are requirements that an insurer approve surgery or care before it happens.
UnitedHealthcare was named in an October government report detailing how the insurer’s prior authorisation denial rate for some Medicare Advantage patients has surged in recent years.
The report from the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations also named rivals Humana and CVS. It also investigated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by insurers to deny claims.
Medicare Advantage is the private version of Medicare, which provides health insurance to millions of older Americans.
The report found that as UnitedHealthcare relied more on its automated system to review claims, denials rose for post-acute treatment, which includes nursing home or rehabilitation care. The insurer denied nearly a quarter of claims, a rate that doubled over just a two-year period from 2020 to 2022.
In November last year, the relatives of two UnitedHealthcare patients filed a lawsuit in Minnesota, alleging that the insurer used AI to deny claims which had already been approved by doctors.
The algorithm had allegedly a 90 per cent error rate, which UnitedHealthcare knew about, according to the deceased patients’ families.
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