Internet comments heaped scorn Thursday on UnitedHealthcare as the Minnetonka-based health insurer mourned the murder of its chief executive, Brian Thompson, who was shot just before an investor conference where the company was to reveal plans for greater profits next year. Police have not publicly speculated on the motives of the person who shot at Thompson at least three times at close range Wednesday on a Manhattan sidewalk. But the sense that the shooting could be related to Thompson’s job and UnitedHealthcare’s reputation for denying care grew when it was revealed that one bullet casing found at the scene reportedly had the word “deny” scratched into it. UnitedHealthcare is a for-profit company, but it’s not proven whether it’s really more aggressive than other insurers at denying care or simply that it draws more attention as the nation’s largest health insurer. Public data sets on denial rates by insurance company are limited. But the shocking shooting has put new focus on the firm, its reputation and history. While the insurer grew into one of Minnesota’s largest employers and economic engines, the state declined for decades to license it or any other for-profit company to sell HMO plans. That prohibition was lifted in 2017 when Republican lawmakers sought to expand insurance options for Minnesotans, but then Democratic lawmakers in 2024 specifically prohibited for-profit HMOs such as UnitedHealth from selling plans in the state’s growing Medical Assistance program. “Let’s face it: For-profit companies exist to legally maximize shareholder value,” said Rep. Liz Reyer, DFL-Eagan, earlier this year when a court decision upheld Minnesota’s for-profit prohibition . “That’s their requirement.” The company has faced increasing public scrutiny and congressional inquires over its denials of care, especially to elderly participants in Medicare Advantage plans. A report by a U.S. Senate subcommittee last October scolded UnitedHealthcare for denying prior authorization requests for expensive post-acute care at three times the rate that it denied other requests. UnitedHealthcare in response said it still approves the vast majority of requests for post-acute care for patients after hospitalizations, and that it is federally required to give these claims heightened scrutiny. The company also has been accused of relying on a claims process, supported by artificial intelligence, that had a 90% error rate in determining whether a requested treatment was medically necessary. UnitedHealthcare announced as recently as March 2023 that it was dialing back some requirements for prior authorizations , but the publicly traded company is always going to face opposing pressures, said Wendell Potter, a former Cigna vice president who has since become a whistleblower on the industry’s practices. An increase in spending on patients’ care caused the stock of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company to drop as much as 8% this fall, putting it under pressure from investors and analysts. “It’s a company that has been a Wall Street darling,” Potter said, “and the way you become a Wall Street darling is you do a really good job of managing medical expense. It means you need to employ things like prior authorization and do it aggressively.” Thompson’s widow, Paulette, told NBC News after Wednesday’s shooting that her husband had received threats related to UnitedHealthcare’s denial of medical coverage. Some people on social media were brutally unsympathetic. “When you shoot one man in the street it’s murder,” one person posted on the social media site X. “When you kill thousands of people in hospitals by taking away their ability to get treatment you’re an entrepreneur.” Potter said the murder became an opportunity for some to publicly vent about UnitedHealthcare, because “nothing like this has ever happened before.” The volume of criticism also relates to the insurer’s size — it now covers roughly 47 million people through private plans it sells to employers or individuals, and public plans it offers through the government’s Medicare program for the elderly and Medicaid program for low-income and disabled Americans. Parent company UnitedHealth Group is in the top five of the Fortune 500 list, closely behind Apple, and has become a major health-care provider as well, employing or having affiliations with 10% of the nation’s physicians through its Optum division. A cyberattack against Optum’s Change Healthcare division earlier this year affected 100 million patients, making it one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history. Some health care providers reported months-long delays in payments of claims in the aftermath of the cyberattack, and Andrew Witty, CEO of parent company UnitedHealth Group, was brought before Congress to testify about it. “There’s a lot of just pent-up outrage at this company and other companies that are middle-men that are standing between a patient and his or her doctor or hospital,” Potter said. Minnesota health care providers have reported excessively high rates of denials by UnitedHealth Care, but comparative data is limited and the company disputes some of those claims as attempts to gain leverage in contract negotiations. The federal government compares individual plans under the Affordable Care Act by their claims and denial rates, and showed in 2021 that UnitedHealth’s qualified health plans in Arizona denied almost 39% of in-network claims. That was higher than the average denial rate of about 17% for comparable plans nationwide, but wasn’t unique, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis . Seventeen insurers posted denial rates above 30% that year. Matthew Viergutz of Lutsen, Minn., filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare last year because he had received prescriptions and insurance coverage since 2009 to receive two pills per day of a medication known as Vyvanse until UnitedHealth took over his employer health plan. The lawsuit says three psychiatrists in different states independently authorized two pills per day to help Viergutz manage his mental health condition, but the insurer would only pay for one. Viergutz spent thousands out of pocket to cover the difference over the last two years. His lawsuit claims that UnitedHealthcare made its decision without any investigation or familiarity with his medical condition or prescription history. UnitedHealthcare argued in response that its decision was legal and within coverage guidelines. Stories of denials are common, said Unai Montes, a media strategist for People’s Action, an advocacy group that has conducted public protests of UnitedHealthcare, including one that resulted in multiple arrests earlier this year outside the insurer’s Minnetonka headquarters. He recalled a baby born prematurely who was initially denied intensive care and a child with congenital abnormalities who was initially denied coverage of a life-saving surgery. Montes expressed sorrow over Thompson’s death and sympathy for his family. Changing the health care system needs to happen through a “non-violent, productive and democratic process,” he added. “We are against senseless killing and we are against senseless death,” he said, “and we want to make sure we are preventing senseless death and senseless loss of life by taking on a broken system and making sure companies are not putting profits over people.” Staff writer Christopher Snowbeck contributed to this article.
NoneCross Timbers Royalty Trust ( NYSE:CRT – Get Free Report ) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,100 shares, a decline of 19.5% from the November 30th total of 11,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 29,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Stock Down 2.9 % CRT opened at $9.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.28. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has a twelve month low of $8.88 and a twelve month high of $18.49. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Cuts Dividend The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.0623 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.78%. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust’s payout ratio is 66.07%. About Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Cross Timbers Royalty Trust operates as an express trust in the United States. It holds 90% net profits interests in certain producing and nonproducing royalty and overriding royalty interest properties in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico; and 75% net profits working interest in four properties in Texas and three properties in Oklahoma. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cross Timbers Royalty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
The Los Angeles Lakers are riding a slippery slope amid their recent struggles. The last eight games have not been too polite to the Los Angeles Lakers. They started the new season strong, which came with the arrival of first-year head coach JJ Redick. They’ve l ost six of their last eight games . Some are calling the fall of LeBron James 22 years into his career, as he’s been consistent for two-plus decades. Others are blaming Redick. Evidently, it’s hard to place the blame anywhere but the management. They put the players on the court that the coaching staff has to work with. Also, the players determine their effort levels to execute the coaching staff’s game plan . Anthony Davis had a recent issue as the Lakers lost their second straight game. Chandler Parsons, a former NBA player, offered a brutal assessment of the situation on “Run It Back.” Anthony Davis wasn’t trying in the Lakers’ recent loss, Parsons claims The Lakers’ last two losses have come by a total margin of 70 games. That’s a sign of a terrible basketball team, especially as they have lost six of their last eight games. They are in poor form and it’s not something Redick can directly fix. In the club’s loss to the Heat, Parsons noticed that Davis wasn’t even trying. The superstar who is having an MVP-caliber player left no effort out on the floor. He had no energy. It wasn’t just Davis, though. It was the entire five on the floor. “Look at Anthony Davis right now,” Parsons said of a video of his effort. “That’s a Defensive Player of the Year, a defensive talent playing right there, and that’s the effort I’m getting? I literally found myself googling what club was open on a Tuesday night in Miami where the Lakers went. That’s the only thing I can think of.” He added: “This was an embarrassing pathetic performance. This was just effort, this was will, this was nothing to do with basketball. “Anthony Davis it looked like he did not care, that’s the most concerning part, I know it’s one game, but this is one you look back on, this is detrimental to the game, this is embarrassing for the league, it’s that bad.” Davis is the anchor of the defense. Sure, the guards might not have had energy defensively, nor anyone else on the floor. But Davis can spark energy with a few hustle plays and communication from where he’s at on the floor. Someone has got to set the tone on the floor for the Lakers. Redick can’t do it from the sideline and Rob Pelinka can’t make a trade mid-game to swap out players. Lakers legend Magic Johnson is “embarrassed” for the team There are not many words to describe what the Lakers are right now, but Magic Johnson — a Lakers legend — put it perfectly. He was “embarrassed” after their abysmal performance in Miami. “I’m embarrassed for the Lakers. They were down 32 points to the Miami Heat 105-72 at the end of the third quarter,” Johnson shared online. I’m embarrassed for the Lakers. They were down 32 points to the Miami Heat 105-72 at the end of the third quarter. This is a fair reaction for even players and fans who didn’t represent the franchise and aren’t legends within the building. They are the Lakers — one of the most powerful sports organizations in the world. The amount of problems within the franchise goes beyond one coach or player. They’ve got a management issue. They’ve got a talent issue. They don’t have the correct resources to be a contending NBA team. For Johnson, and others, it’s glaringly evident that the Lakers don’t have what it takes to win games right now, and “embarrassed” is a great way to put it. This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.Returning to the office a few days a week is worth the commute, experts say
