The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has captivated a sharply divided nation, exposing deep-seated frustrations surrounding the health insurance industry. Widespread discontent over dealings with healthcare companies has fueled intense reactions across social media, where some users have openly applauded the gunman and expressed little sympathy for Thompson’s death. At just 50 years old, Thompson was a father of two sons from Maple Grove, Minnesota, yet many have controversially depicted him as a symbol of what they view as a broken national healthcare system.
The situation has grown even more complex following the identification of the suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. As additional photos of Mangione circulate online, reactions have taken a surprising turn, with some defending or even celebrating him. This wave of support underscores a broader public anger toward healthcare inequality, according to Nsikan Akpan, managing editor for Think Global Health, a publication affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations that examines global health issues.
Akpan explained that the killing, along with the divided social media response, reflects a sense of powerlessness many Americans feel regarding health coverage and income inequality. The lack of meaningful action from public officials has led voters to stop prioritizing healthcare in political discussions, despite its pervasive impact. The reaction to Thompson’s death, therefore, is not just about the tragedy itself but a symptom of deeper frustrations within the healthcare system—frustrations that continue to resonate throughout the country.
“A targeted killing won’t solve those problems, and neither will condoning it,” the expert added, underscoring the dangers of endorsing violence as a solution to systemic issues.
Amid the overwhelming wave of social media posts supporting Luigi Mangione, experts have carefully analyzed the content to determine its origins. While some initially suspected the involvement of coordinated “influence campaigns” by foreign actors—efforts often designed to sow division or exacerbate controversy—researchers concluded that these posts lacked the hallmark characteristics of such campaigns. Instead, Tim Weninger, a computer science professor at Notre Dame specializing in social media and artificial intelligence, stated that the online reaction appears to be genuine. “People are legitimately actually pissed off at the health care industry, and there is some kind of support for vigilante justice,” Weninger explained. “It’s organic.”
While a number of posts expressed shocking support for Mangione’s actions, others conveyed a more measured perspective, voicing anger and sadness over the killing of Brian Thompson. Many commenters acknowledged Thompson’s decades of effort to climb the corporate ladder and questioned the morality of celebrating such a tragic event.
Meanwhile, new details about Mangione’s personal life have begun to surface. Friends and family noted that in recent months, Mangione had become increasingly distant, raising concerns about his mental health. According to those close to him, the estrangement began following spinal surgery, after which Mangione withdrew from his social circles and largely fell out of touch. The combination of his physical struggles and apparent isolation has left those who knew him grappling with the events that ultimately unfolded.
There is currently no evidence to suggest that Luigi Mangione had any personal grievance with the care provided by UnitedHealthcare or its parent company, UnitedHealth Group. While investigators did recover a brief manifesto from Mangione’s backpack, in which he criticized UnitedHealthcare as being “too powerful” and accused the company of exploiting the country for “immense profit,” there is no indication that he had any direct dealings with the insurer or was enrolled in its coverage. The manifesto, while pointing to his general disdain for the company, did not detail any personal experiences or interactions with UnitedHealthcare.
As Mangione was escorted to an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, he appeared to acknowledge the broader public anger that has been building in the United States. As he passed by a group of reporters, Mangione shouted, “This is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.” His statement seemed to reflect his belief that the healthcare system, along with the actions of powerful corporations like UnitedHealthcare, had failed to address the needs and concerns of ordinary Americans.
The widespread frustration with the U.S. healthcare system has been a recurring theme in popular culture for years, often highlighting the struggles individuals face when trying to access care. In the film John Q, Denzel Washington portrays a father whose son desperately needs a heart transplant, but the family’s insurance refuses to cover the life-saving procedure.
Similarly, in the horror movie Saw, the villain seeks revenge on the insurance executive who denied him coverage for an experimental cancer treatment. The theme extends to television as well: in Breaking Bad, the character Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher, turns to cooking methamphetamine as a desperate attempt to cover his mounting medical bills.
These portrayals in Hollywood and literature echo the real-life frustrations felt by many Americans, where insurance companies, despite processing millions of claims each year, are often seen as being unjust in their denials. As insurance companies become larger and more bureaucratic, the process of obtaining necessary care has become increasingly complex and difficult. Experts, including health insurance executives, policy analysts, and pollsters, suggest that this sentiment has only intensified in recent years. The growing costs of medical care and the impersonal nature of large insurance systems have made it harder for people to access the healthcare they need, contributing to a rising sense of anger and distrust toward the industry.
“There is a growing sense of rage emerging,” said Michael Perry, a pollster who has conducted numerous focus groups on healthcare issues over the past decade. In the past, Perry often encountered mixed opinions from consumers about their health insurance, with wealthier individuals typically expressing satisfaction with their plans. However, that sentiment has shifted. “I don’t hear that anymore,” he said, noting that the wealth gap in healthcare has diminished. “There is no amount of money that can buy you good insurance anymore.”
Rising costs in the healthcare system are forcing many to reconsider their care options. According to an August study by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan healthcare research organization, nearly two in five working-age adults have been forced to delay doctor visits or prescriptions due to high deductibles and co-payments. The same study found that a significant number of people who do receive medical or dental care are burdened by substantial debt. In fact, about one-third of working-age adults report struggling with medical debt, a situation that continues to worsen as costs climb.
Sara Collins, a senior scholar at the Commonwealth Fund who specializes in healthcare access, emphasized that the real problems begin once individuals get sick and need to use their insurance. “Once people get sick and need to use their plans, things can start to go wrong,” she said. “When that happens, they really aren’t sure what to do.” This uncertainty adds to the frustration, as many find themselves overwhelmed by the complexities of the healthcare system when they need it most.
Many patients are unaware that they have the right to challenge incorrect bills or denied coverage, according to experts. Others simply lack the time or resources to navigate the complex insurance system to dispute such issues. As a result, those with financial means often pay without question, while the less privileged give up in frustration.
“We’ve created a deeply frustrated population with few options for fair relief,” said Warris Bokhari, who left his role as vice president at Anthem in 2021 and founded a new company to assist patients in filing appeals. While Bokhari made it clear that violence against executives is not justified, he acknowledged that private tragedies are unfolding every day, largely ignored and unheard by the public.
Meanwhile, health insurance companies continue to reap substantial profits. UnitedHealthcare, the division led by Brian Thompson, reported $281 billion in revenue last year and provided coverage to over 50 million Americans through individual plans, employer offerings, and government programs like Medicare. Thompson himself earned a total compensation package of $10.2 million in the same period.
The resentment toward high executive pay in an industry that many Americans feel has failed them was evident on social media in the wake of Thompson’s death. A meme circulating online depicted a Patagonia vest—an item favored by executives—at half-staff, mocking the sympathy typically reserved for such individuals, reflecting the growing discontent with the disparity between the industry’s profits and the struggles faced by everyday people.
On social media, some users have openly supported Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, valedictorian of his private high school class, and scion of a prominent real estate family in the Baltimore area, has become a controversial figure. Many online commentators have expressed admiration for his appearance, with “Dave Franco” trending on the platform X, as users joked about casting the actor to play Mangione in a movie about the incident.
Others even went as far as offering “Free Luigi” T-shirts for sale, and a cryptocurrency named after him briefly surged in value. Some posts even went to the extreme of photoshopping Mangione into a scene in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on the day of the shooting, attempting to create a fictional alibi.
While such posts celebrating a murder suspect may seem crass, they reflect a broader cultural trend in the United States, where vigilantism and revenge killings have at times been romanticized. “There’s a long, long history of vigilantism in the United States, dating back to pre-Revolutionary times, when people took the law into their own hands because they didn’t think they could get justice any other way,” explained Michael Asimow, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law.
Asimow suggested that Mangione’s support stems from his perceived action against what many view as an intractable problem — the frustrations of dealing with health insurance companies. “Just about everybody has had negative experiences with health insurance companies that don’t pay claims or pay very low amounts,” he said, making it unsurprising that some would sympathize with Mangione, even though he is accused of committing murder.
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