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The fatal shooting on Wednesday of a top UnitedHealthcare executive, Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan sidewalk has unleashed a torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives. “Thoughts and deductibles to the family,” read one comment underneath a video of the shooting posted online by CNN. “Unfortunately my condolences are out-of-network.” (Searcey and Kircher, 12/5)

The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose”—etched in Sharpie on bullet casings recovered outside the Midtown Hilton after Wednesday’s deadly shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—have focused attention on threats faced by professionals in all levels of the health-insurance industry, from call centers to c-suites, as companies review their security measures and plan to step them up. The words are familiar to anyone on the front lines of the emotional battles between insurance companies and their customers over coverage issues. Patient support groups commonly use the refrain “deny, delay and defend,” which is meant to summarize cost-driven insurance-company tactics that some customers see as harsh. It has also become well-known among plaintiffs’ lawyers who sue health, property and casualty insurers on behalf of patients, alleging coverage has been unfairly denied. Many of the lawyers now have the phrase on their websites. (Calvert, Mathews and Wernau, 12/5)

Doctors and medical professionals offered incisive and unsparing critiques of Brian Thompson’s business practices. One medical doctor, whose identity the Daily Beast confirmed, commented with sympathy for Thompson’s family and said the killer should be charged with murder, but then wondered about the damage the CEO had done. “What has bothered me the most is people that put «fiduciary responsibility» (eg profits) above human lives, none more so than this company as run by him," wrote another medical doctor, who also spoke to the Daily Beast to confirm their identity. “When other’s human lives are deemed worthless, it is not surprising to have others view your life of no value as well.” (Craig, 12/5)

“There’s clearly a sense of real discontent and distrust of the industry revealed in social media,” said Brian Klepper, principal of the Healthcare Performance Inc. consulting firm. “That’s not a healthy environment for an industry to prosper.” (Smith, Muller and Griffin, 12/5)

Two very ugly, uniquely American things happened yesterday: A health-care executive was shot dead, and because he was a health-care executive, people cheered. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered yesterday outside his hotel in Midtown Manhattan by an unknown assailant. The identity of the killer is unknown. His motive is not yet clear. Yet despite the cold-blooded nature of the attack, and despite the many unknowns, people all over the country have leaped to speculation—and in some cases even celebration—about a horrific act of violence. (Florko, 12/5)

An expert in political violence told the Guardian he sees this as part of the US’s growing acceptance of violence as a way to settle civil disputes. “Now the norms of violence are spreading into the commercial sector,” said Robert Pape, director of the University of Chicago’s project on security and threats. (Glenza, 12/5)

Linda Duffy, 83, got sick of the “games” that she says UnitedHealthcare played with health care providers over negotiating contracts. Duffy, who lives outside Raleigh, was enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan under UnitedHealthcare, a private insurance company that administers her Medicare benefits. (Vitaglione, 12/6)

Chief executives and other high-level corporate officers are seeking additional security protection after the brazen slaying of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive officer in New York, according to a top risk management firm. (Coombs and Mangan, 12/5)

Leaders at Allied Universal, which provides security services for 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies, said their phones were “ringing off the hook” on Wednesday with potential clients. Allied covers a wide spectrum of services — including stationing guards outside offices, chauffeuring executives, surveilling their homes and tracking their families. Protecting a chief executive full time costs roughly $250,000 a year, said Glen Kucera, who runs Allied’s enhanced protection services. (Goldberg, 12/6)

Some high-profile CEOs surround themselves with security. But the fatal shooting this week of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson while he walked alone on a New York City sidewalk has put a spotlight on the widely varied approaches companies take in protecting their leaders against threats. Thompson had no personal security and appeared unaware of the shooter lurking before he was gunned down. Some of the biggest U.S. companies, particularly those in the tech sector, spend heavily on personal and residential security for their top executives. (Geller, Bussewitz and Liedtke, 12/6)

As the investigation into a masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of one of the largest U.S. health insurers moved into its third day Friday, possible leads emerged about his travel before the shooting. Investigators also now believe the suspect may have traveled to New York last month on a bus that originated in Atlanta, one of the law enforcement officials said. Police and federal agents have been collecting information from Greyhound in an attempt to identify the suspect. (Balsamo, Offenhartz and Sisak, 12/6)

A series of developments — details of a stay at the hostel, a possible link to a gun purchased in Connecticut, bullet casings inscribed with the words “deny” and “delay” — suggested investigators could be inching closer to identifying the gunman. Investigators have not established a motive in the shooting. (McFadden and Kilgannon, 12/6)

Amateur internet sleuths are racing to identify the gunman who killed the chief of the nation’s largest health insurer in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, hoping to piece together clues and beat police investigators at their own high-profile manhunt. (Harwell, Gilbert and MacMillan, 12/5)

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said Thursday that the health insurance provider is reversing a policy that was set to go into effect in February of that would have limited anesthesia coverage during surgeries and other procedures, a change that had prompted an outcry from some physicians and lawmakers. The policy, which would have covered Anthem's plans in Connecticut, New York and Missouri, was disclosed in recent weeks. ... The policy would have excluded people under 22 years old and maternity care. (Picchi, 12/5)

For the first time in over a decade, employers are bracing for health care cost increases that are growing at rates not seen in years. Many businesses reported higher-than-expected expenses in 2023, with projections for 2024 and 2025 signaling even sharper growth. This cost trajectory has forced many organizations to reconsider long-standing partnerships and explore new strategies for cost management. Employers are expected to respond with increased request-for-proposal activity, seeking greater transparency and accountability from vendor partners. These efforts will likely disrupt current arrangements but are designed to improve long-term outcomes, including patient experience, affordability, and quality of care. Businesses will also explore alternative approaches, such as direct contracting with centers of excellence and steering employees toward high-value providers. (Shryock, 12/3)

Billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday weighed in on the cost of health care in the U.S., questioning the value Americans get for the coverage they receive. "Shouldn’t the American people be getting their money’s worth?" Musk, who was tapped to co-lead the incoming-Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, replied to a post on X. His comment was in response to a post highlighting data from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation that says that the U.S. has the highest health care admin costs (per capita) compared to OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. (Genovese, 12/5)

As a historic wave of baby boomers reaches retirement age, finding affordable long-term care is a challenge. “We’re going to have a major storm coming in our country with all these folks that can’t take care of themselves,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-New York, said Thursday at the Employee Benefit Research Institute policy forum in Washington, D.C. (Konish, 12/5)

In the U.S., having health insurance is necessary, but not sufficient to ensure access to affordable medical care. While the U.S. lacks a universal health care system like those that exist in most other wealthy nations, most Americans over 65 are insured through Medicare. Yet many still struggle to afford care, with high out-of-pocket costs putting necessary medications and doctor visits out of reach, according to research from The Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit that works to promote an equitable health care system. (Cerullo, 12/5)

Hospitals have expanded their legal push for the federal government to boost Medicare reimbursement. More than 500 hospitals last week sued the Health and Human Services Department for allegedly miscalculating a 40-year-old Inpatient Prospective Payment System base reimbursement rate that providers say has lowered years of subsequent Medicare payments to hospitals. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of similar complaints that allege the Health and Human Services Department must increase Medicare inpatient pay. (Kacik, 12/5)

Technology giant Amazon is expanding a program that connects its users to digital health companies. Amazon is adding virtual musculoskeletal health company Hinge Health to its Health Condition Programs, the companies said Thursday. The programs allow users to input information about their insurance plan and potentially identify covered services such as Hinge’s virtual physical therapy. (Turner, 12/5)

Stanford Health Care, Essentia Health, Winona Health and Boulder Community Health have joined Civica, a nonprofit company that looks to increase access to generic drugs and stem persistent shortages. Palo Alto, California-based Stanford, Duluth, Minnesota-based Essentia, Winona, Minnesota-based Winona and Boulder, Colorado-based Boulder Community are now part of Civica’s network of about 60 health systems and 1,400 hospitals, Civica said Thursday in a news release. (Kacik, 12/5)

Senators on both sides of the aisle blasted the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday for not doing enough to prevent a surge in obesity and diabetes in the United States. The agency’s commissioner, Robert Califf, turned the blame back around, arguing that if Congress wants the FDA to issue tighter regulations on the food and beverage industry, it should give the agency more money and authority. (Lawrence, 12/5)

The Food and Drug Administration has always believed it has the power to regulate tests made in labs. But it was only under President Biden that it began exercising that authority, releasing a policy in April telling labs they have four years to comply with regulatory requirements. (Lawrence, 12/6)

Sen. Bernie Sanders praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s message on food issues Thursday, and said he had not made up his mind on whether he would oppose President-elect Donald Trump's pick of Kennedy to head the nation's health agencies. In an interview with CBS News correspondent Natalie Brand, the independent Vermont senator said that he feared some of Kennedy's views on health issues are "extremely dangerous," criticizing Kennedy's call to pull fluoride out of U.S. water supply systems and his "very wrong" views on vaccines. (Tin, 12/5)

A national health care advocacy group has started campaigning in Alaska to urge U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from leading the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Politico reported last month that Protect Our Care — a left-leaning health care group — was planning to target moderate Republican senators to vote against President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the key health care post. The group kicked off its Alaska campaign last week. (Maguire, 12/6)

If there’s a theme among President-elect Donald Trump’s health Cabinet picks, it’s this: The vast majority were critics of how the Biden administration handled COVID-19. The pandemic upended Americans’ perspective on public health and health care delivery, both throughout the United States and among Republican lawmakers. Policy experts say that change is evident in Trump’s selections to lead major U.S. health agencies. (Cohen, 12/5)

What began as an unlikely, diverse alliance — “Make America Healthy Again,” inclusive of everyone from ex-Bernie supporters to vaccine-critical mothers and Joe Rogan listeners — is showing some cracks. As President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team stack the next administration with officials from different backgrounds, some in MAHA are dissatisfied with his choices to lead health-related agencies. (Cueto, 12/6)

�鶹Ů�� Health News' 'What The Health?' Podcast: A Colorful Cast Could Lead Key Health Agencies 

President-elect Donald Trump has made his choices to fill some top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. They include controversial figures who were vocal critics of the Biden administration’s handling of the covid pandemic and have proposed sweeping changes to the agencies they would lead. (Rovner, 12/5)

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said in an unclassified report released Thursday that it "appears increasingly likely that a foreign adversary is behind some" cases of what officials refer to as "anomalous health incidents" – mysterious illnesses suffered by U.S. national security officials. The House Intelligence Committee concluded in the report that an intelligence community assessment from 2023 of anomalous health incidents (AHI), commonly called Havana Syndrome, "lacked analytic integrity and was highly irregular in its formulation." (Pelley, Chasan, Zill de Granados, Rey, Gordon and Woods, 12/5)

Eighteen months after residents and fellows at Mass General Brigham voted to unionize, about 400 doctors in training protested outside the health system’s flagship hospitals Thursday and accused their employer of bargaining in bad faith as the union seeks its first contract. Shouting “shame” and “union power,” members of the Committee of Interns and Residents, or CIR, of the Service Employees International Union said MGB has offered raises that fail to keep pace with inflation. (Saltzman, 12/5)

Iowa is among the worst states in the country for physician-to-patient ratio. It ranks 44th in United States for physicians per capita, according to the Iowa Medical Society. The problem is especially acute for patients in rural areas seeking specialized care. (Dunlap, Kieffer and Gehr, 12/5)

Acutus Medical, a manufacturer of cardiac electrophysiology devices, plans to lay off about 70% of its employees in early 2025. The company submitted a filing to California's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification database on Dec. 2 for the permanent termination of 57 employees, set to take effect Feb.1. (Dubinsky, 12/5)

After investigating complaints that Crystal Lake endocrinologist Dr. Hiralal Maheshwari had touched patients inappropriately in his exam rooms, McHenry County prosecutors approved a felony charge of criminal sexual abuse in December 2021. Under state law, the prosecutors should have immediately notified the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the state agency with oversight over medical professionals. (Hoerner and Schencker, 12/6)

A 42-year-old woman from Sonoma entered the emergency room at the UCSF hospital in 2021 with a swollen and bleeding fibroid in her uterus that required surgery. What followed was agony. According to a lawyer for the woman and her husband, medics mistakenly mixed her anesthetic with a mislabeled cup on the same tray that contained formalin, a liquid form of the chemical formaldehyde, and injected it. She suffered burns to her pelvic muscle and tissue, nerve damage, loss of strength and mobility, and pain that still torments her three years later. (Egelko, 12/5)

Santa Clara county hospitals have illegally dumped tons of biohazardous waste, including prescription drugs, human tissue and vials containing blood, county prosecutors said. One photo appeared to show a discarded umbilical cord or part of a human organ, among piles of trash with soiled towels, used syringes, unemptied prescription vials and over-the-counter drugs, including fentanyl, and medical equipment, officials said in a news release Thursday. Hundreds of documents with unredacted personal patient information were also found. (McDonald, 12/5)

The fight to tighten Oklahoma's already strict abortion laws has resumed as one Republican lawmaker introduced the first anti-abortion bill of the 2025 legislative session. Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, filed House Bill 1008 which would classify abortion as a felony for providers and grant protections for fetuses. If passed, the bill would revive Senate Bill 612, which was signed into law in 2022 before being struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. (Aston, 12/5)

Michigan Democrats are pushing this month to pass legislation they say will improve reproductive health care, in particular the safety of digital health data, ahead of Republicans taking over the state House in 2025. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is backing a bill designed to protect reproductive health data including data logged on menstrual cycle tracking apps. Similar legislation that has passed in other states is aimed at keeping the data from being used to target people seeking abortions. (Volmert, 12/6)

Using birth control is life or death for Kendall Hantelman. She was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder due to her excessive menstrual bleeding and a near-death hemorrhage after a sinus surgery. When she was 23, her doctor said she had a 25% chance of dying if she got pregnant. “So, I started taking birth control to stay alive because the doctor told me that I would have better odds playing Russian roulette than getting pregnant,” Hantelman said. (Gabriel, 12/5)

Legislation to better protect patients that was introduced as a result of sexually abusive doctors is a step closer to becoming law. The Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Bill 89, sending it to the state Senate for consideration. ... If passed by the legislature's upper chamber and signed into law by the governor, the bill would prohibit medical providers from conducting intimate exams unless medically necessary or for certain other exceptions. (Filby, 12/5)

The DeSantis administration plans to reject this week’s federal approval of Florida’s plan to expand KidCare, the state’s health insurance program for children. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services accepted Florida’s application for a waiver after a yearlong delay, but with the stipulation that the state provides 12 months of continuous coverage. (Menzel and Mayer, 12/6)

Oklahoma City has seen a 57% decrease in mental health-related calls dispatched to Oklahoma City police officers in the last 13 months, the department announced Tuesday, which is partially attributed to the success of the state's 988 Mental Health Lifeline. The reduction, the department says, shows that more Oklahoma City residents are receiving mental health assistance from specialized support, rather than emergency law enforcement intervention. (Kelly, 12/5)

A Chicago biomedical research hub backed by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, has produced its first published research — on discovering a way to monitor inflammation in real time using sensors implanted under the skin. (Schencker, 12/5)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Six Years Into An Appalachia Hospital Monopoly, Patients Are Fearful And Furious

Jerry Qualls had a heart attack in 2022 and was rushed by ambulance to Holston Valley Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for a week and kept alive by a ventilator and blood pump, according to his medical records. His wife, Katherine Qualls, said his doctors offered little hope. In an interview and a written complaint to the Tennessee government, she said doctors at Holston Valley told her that her husband would not qualify for a heart transplant and shouldn’t be expected to recover. (Kelman, 12/6)

At least 364 pertussis infections were reported to health authorities last week, according to figures published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marking the worst Thanksgiving week for whooping cough in recent decades. This tops the previous Thanksgiving record of 228 cases of pertussis which were reported for the week ending Nov. 27, 2010. That year there were 27,550 cases reported by the end of 2010, below the 28,167 already tallied so far this year. (Tin, 12/5)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: How Measles, Whooping Cough, And Worse Could Roar Back On RFK Jr.’s Watch

The availability of safe, effective covid vaccines less than a year into the pandemic marked a high point in the 300-year history of vaccination, seemingly heralding an age of protection against infectious diseases. Now, after backlash against public health interventions culminated in President-elect Donald Trump’s nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s best-known anti-vaccine activist, as its top health official, infectious disease and public health experts and vaccine advocates say a confluence of factors could cause renewed, deadly epidemics of measles, whooping cough, and meningitis, or even polio. (Allen, 12/6)

Patients given the antiviral drug oseltamivir on the day of hospital admission for influenza A had less severe disease and were less likely to die or require intensive care and dialysis or vasopressors (drugs to raise blood pressure) than those who didn't receive early therapy, suggests a US study published last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 12/5)

On America’s large dairy farms, milking is a vast operation, and the potential for disease transmission is worrying, health experts say. (Anthes, 12/5)

Across the country, the thirst for an illicit beverage is growing. Raw milk can’t be sold legally for human consumption in many states, but some 11 million Americans drink it anyway as wellness influencers, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., extol its benefits. They do so despite a well-established risk of disease and death: E. coli, salmonella, and listeria have all been found in unpasteurized milk. This year, a new pathogen has been added to the list. Bird flu. (Tayag, 12/5)

Africa's mpox outbreaks are still trending upward. ... Countries reported 36 more deaths, raising the total this year to 1,200. "We are still losing people," said Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, director-general of Africa CDC. The region reported 2,708 new cases, putting the total for the year at 62,171 cases in 20 countries. Most cases and all of the deaths last week were from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has been the main outbreak epicenter. (Schnirring, 12/5)

Thirteen children under the age of 14 have died in central Mexico and authorities said Thursday they suspect contaminated IV feeding bags as the culprit. The federal Health Department ordered doctors across the country not to use IV nutrition bags made by the company Productos Hospitalarios S.A de C.V., though the exact source of the infections is still under investigation. Phone calls to numbers listed for the company and emails seeking comment went unanswered. (12/5)

Black Americans experience schizophrenia and related disorders at twice the rate of white Americans. It’s a disparity that has parallels in other cultures. (Bergner, 12/3)

Nine years ago, Nikki Schultek, an active and healthy woman in her early 30s, experienced a sudden cascade of debilitating and agonising symptoms – including cognitive and breathing problems and heart arrhythmia – and was investigated for multiple sclerosis. But three brain scans and numerous X-rays later, there was still no diagnosis or treatment plan. Now, she shows no signs of degenerative brain disease. It turned out she had multiple chronic infections, including Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which causes Lyme disease and which had stealthily reached her brain. (Fleming, 12/1)

In a Switzerland study, two people with spinal cord injuries received deep brain stimulation therapy and were able to walk without assistance and even climb stairs. (Rudy, 12/5)

After success in early stage trials, MaaT Pharma is on the verge of becoming the first company to have an approved microbiome-related product for cancer care. (Gale, 12/5)

As the popular movie “Erin Brockovich” winds to an end, a character named Donna Jensen wins $5 million from Pacific Gas & Electric, part of a $333 million legal settlement the community won in 1996 after the utility was accused of contaminating the groundwater here for years, sickening some residents. What the movie didn’t show is what happened next. (Foster-Frau, 12/1)

Here’s an incomplete list of things that doctors are able to transplant from one human to another: a heart, a lung, a kidney, a liver, a pancreas, a face, a hand, skin, bone marrow, stem cells and blood. But not eyes. A team of scientists and doctors at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus hope to change that through groundbreaking work on whole eye transplants, and now they’ve scored a big investment from the federal government to help them do that. (Ingold, 12/6)

Some people are taking tiny amounts of weight loss medications, hoping to drop pounds while avoiding side effects. Does it work? (Blum, 12/5)

The new program at the Melbourne airport, in conjunction with Space Coast Therapy Dogs, was about four years in the making. (Paulson, 12/2)

Before Democrats lose the White House and the Senate, they should push through legislation to repeal the Comstock Act, which could be used to prevent legal medically induced abortions everywhere in the United States. Given the success of ballot initiatives that protect the right to abortion in even conservative states in last week’s election, the politics could be right to repeal that 1873 law. (Erwin Chemerinsky and Miles Mogulescu, 12/4)

Avian flu is storming through California, with more than 250 new cases detected among dairy herds in the past 30 days, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Since the flu was first detected in cattle in March, the USDA has confirmed more than 700 cases in 15 states. New England cattle have been spared so far, but there’s little reason to think that will last indefinitely. (12/6)

The recently ended Boar’s Head listeria outbreak, which has caused 57 infections and nine deaths, is just one of the many foodborne illness incidents that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detects each year using its PulseNet system. Many people might not realize the extensive effort behind PulseNet, which systematically collects data on foodborne illnesses from patients across the U.S., performs genomic fingerprinting, and traces outbreaks back to their sources. This network of surveillance has been alerting the public to foodborne outbreaks and recalls for years. (Alexander Sundermann, 12/6)

The murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson horrified me. I did not know him. I thought first about his wife and young sons and the shock and grief they — and his colleagues — must feel. I then realized that they must now live in fear for their lives. I was also not at all surprised by those who saw this differently. I have written about greed in health care. (Elliott S. Fisher, 12/5)

At issue in United States v. Skrmetti is a Tennessee law that bans treatments such as the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors. The Biden administration is arguing, among other things, that trans people constitute a “quasi-suspect class” — in layperson’s terms, a group of people who have been subjected to systematic discrimination. (M. Gessen, 12/6)

Those worried about Bovaer in their milk might also consider the medicines and supplements that have been regularly given to farmed livestock for decades, including antibiotics, vaccines and de-wormers. If they’re still concerned about the chemicals in their food, perhaps they should cut out the dairy and meat completely. That’d be even better for the planet. (Lara Williams, 12/6)