Health Warning

Health Warning

The murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, shocked America. But perhaps more disturbing than the crime itself was the reaction on the left, which ranged from outright glee to sympathy with the killer’s sentiments: that private health insurers are extorting the poor, profiting from illness, and slow to pay out claims.

Unlike most other developed economies, the US doesn’t have any form of universal health care. While other countries subsidize health care either partially or completely, the US only has limited programs for the very poor and elderly; everyone else must pay themselves. That means obtaining health insurance to avoid being bankrupted by the eye-wateringly expensive American health care system.

Nothing justifies cold-blooded murder. But with renewed focus on America’s health care system, here is a snapshot of this complex and controversial structure, which tops the charts on cost, but results in only the 42nd-highest life expectancy.

Private Insurance

Employment-based – insurance coverage provided by an employer or union