'This Murder Is a Symbol of the Times'

Conservatives and liberals agree on the state of the health care industry following the killing of Brian Thompson

- KATHERINE FUNG

THE HORRIFYING EXECUTION OF UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City on December 4 has reignited a national conversation about private health insurance, reflecting a wide-reaching consensus among Americans of all political stripes that the industry is deeply flawed.

Online, conservatives and liberals alike have expressed reactions ranging from indifference to schadenfreude over Thompson's murder, citing their gripe with the U.S. healthcare system and the companies, like UnitedHealthcare, that have denied their medical claims in the past.

When asked for comment, UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, referred Newsweek to a December op-ed in The New York Times by its CEO Andrew Witty, in which he said: "While the health system is not perfect, every corner of it is filled with people who try to do their best for those they serve. Brian was one of those people." Thompson was shot outside a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan. Five days later, Ivy League grad Luigi Mangione was apprehended in Pennsylvania, where he is charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.

In New York, Mangione is charged with second-degree murder as well as criminal possession of a forged instrument and several counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Mangione's lawyer said he will fight his extradition to New York.