According to Caixin News on December 13 (Editor: Ma Lan), the murder case of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth, has sparked a heated debate in the USA. The public has shown no proper anger towards the murderer, instead, they have strongly criticized the Medical Insurance Industry.

On Social Media, numerous American users commented that the murder of insurance executives was self-inflicted and referred to the shooting suspect, Luigi Mangione, as a "modern hero who eliminates evil for the people." This divided public opinion has made US legislators very vigilant.

It is reported that the US Congress is reviewing two bills attempting to break the monopoly of the American Insurance Industry. One is the "Patient Protection and Monopolization Act" initiated by Senators Warren and Hawley, and the other is a House proposal, with both bills having bipartisan involvement, indicating that Congress has temporarily set aside party disputes on this issue.

The two bills aim to force insurance companies and other Medical Care companies to sell their so-called "Pharmaceutical Benefit Manager (PBM)" business within the next three years, which is responsible for managing prescription drug insurance plans, intending to effectively control medical costs, save expenditures, and enhance pharmaceutical benefits.

According to the explanation from the American Pharmacists Association, PBMs are primarily responsible for developing and maintaining prescription drug formularies, contracting with pharmacies, negotiating discounts with pharmaceutical manufacturers, and processing and paying claims for prescription drugs.

Although neither bill specifically names any company, statistics show that the combined market share of prescription drugs managed by UnitedHealth Group, CVS's Caremark, and Cigna's Express account for 80% of the US market. This monopolistic situation is undoubtedly severe and will certainly become a primary target of Congress's two proposals.

It has caused a huge wave in the USA.

The two pieces of legislation proposed by Congress are the first targeted at the Insurance industry by USA authorities since the assassination of Thompson, which is enough to prove the magnitude of the waves that Thompson's murder has created in American society.

Although members of Congress avoided citing the views and comments of the victim Thompson and the suspect Mangione in statements on the legislation, Congressman Warren stated in an earlier interview that the public's reaction to Thompson's shooting represents the boiling public opinion in the USA.

She emphasized that people across the USA are feeling anger at being deceived, extorted, and threatened by the Insurance industry, and this instinctive reaction is sufficient to raise everyone's vigilance in the Medical Care system. However, she also warned that violence is never the solution, and people have been driven to this point.

Suspect Mangione criticized the USA's Medical Insurance industry sharply in a handwritten declaration, claiming that Insurance executives are like parasites and that their tragic end would be well-deserved.

This statement has received agreement from a considerable portion of the population. Statistics show that UnitedHealth denies claims at a rate of 32%, double the industry average. Thompson was a strong proponent of this outcome and had even used AI to deny claims from clients, making him "notorious" among policyholders.

According to NYPD Chief Joseph Kenny, Mangione is not a customer of UnitedHealth; he chose to assassinate Thompson seemingly because his company is the largest Medical Insurance company in the USA, aiming to send a warning.

And the "Insurance companies" have indeed been intimidated. Since Thompson's death, several USA Insurance companies have enhanced security for their executives and abandoned some cost-reduction plans that could provoke greater backlash. However, this matter clearly remains in a fermenting stage, and the shockwaves facing the USA Insurance industry seem poised to escalate.