Letters to the Editor | Dec. 26, 2024

After reading Will Bunch’s column and other articles on social media, I have to say that as a self-employed painting contractor for the last 40 years, I have always paid for my own health insurance. Although the cost is high, I have received excellent medical care. From open heart surgery 16 years ago to surgery on a broken wrist (I fell off a ladder) two years ago, and many other medical treatments in between. I’m not so thrilled with the cost of one of my medications, but I’m also not so thrilled with the cost of a new truck. To say — as Bunch does — that the cold-blooded murder of another human being (that of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson) feels like a “moment of clarity” is just wrong. Anybody who feels this way needs to check their moral compass.

Mark Cancelmo, Malvern, cancelmomarkec@aol.com

Gov. Josh Shapiro saying pleasant things about Brian Thompson, the deceased head of UnitedHealthcare, while leaving out the insider trading allegations and all of the pain caused by the claims his company denied is inhuman. Promoting someone who caused so much suffering is a pox on society. Thompson’s victims deserve sympathy and action from the governor’s office, not praise for a CEO.

Thompson’s treatment after his death by his own company shows the worst of capitalism. The company didn’t stop its big meeting after he was shot, didn’t put up a reward for information about his shooter, and now it will simply replace him. He may leave behind a family who misses him, but for UnitedHealthcare, he’s just another cog in the wheel — a wheel that is greased by denying health-care claims. Period. (UnitedHealthcare is even being sued for using artificial intelligence to deny claims.) Humanizing Thompson is a defense of this greedy, corrupt system. If you want to do something about CEOs or anyone else getting shot, support gun legislation. If you’re upset about health-care costs, support universal health care. Help protect everyone, not just the rich.

Jayson Massey, Philadelphia

A recent Washington Post article reprinted in The Inquirer discussed many problems with denial practices by insurers but left out a major problem for seniors. During Medicare open enrollment, the airwaves were filled with ads for Medicare Advantage plans that claimed to offer more services than the combination of traditional Medicare and a supplement, at a lower price. These Medicare Advantage plans are highly profitable for insurers, as they change the gatekeeper for approval and therefore the payment for medical services.

Traditional Medicare approves services based on the doctor’s opinion and regular medical practice. Medicare Advantage plans work on the for-profit system, which provides financial incentives for the insurer to deny the pre-authorization of services and claims and increases the liability of the patient — either through denial of service or denial of payment. These plans only make the system worse for more individuals. The ads and information luring seniors to these plans glide over these fundamental issues.

Christine Jacobs, Philadelphia

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