Screenshot via Elizabeth Warren YouTube
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) condemned the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but also said the killing and “visceral” response to it should serve as a warning about an industry that is failing Americans on Tuesday.
“The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Warren told The Huffington Post on Tuesday when discussing those who have actually rallied behind Thompson’s suspected killer, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione.
While the senator stressed that violence is “never the answer,” she also warned that people can only “be pushed so far.”
“Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” she said. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.”
Shell casings found at the scene of the Thompson murder had the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” marked on them, leading many to believe the killing was meant to be taken as a statement about the health insurance industry. Mangione, who was charged with the murder, had reportedly suffered complications from a back surgery.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also spoke to Huffington Post, condemning the Thompson murder as “unacceptable” before also saying the outrage being expressed at health insurance companies is indicative of a much larger issue.
“I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit,” he said.