UnitedHealth's Minnesota headquarters was rocked by two large protests just months before CEO Brian Thompson was executed in Manhattan on Wednesday — as the president's former security guard took shelter in the Big Apple. This is because he expressed shock that he was not able to do so.
The slain UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, 50, was stationed at the company's headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., during a protest in April to protest an alleged “epidemic” of bill denials. More than 100 protesters gathered in July, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to Minnetonka police, 11 demonstrators were arrested during the July protests, including residents of Minnesota, Illinois, Maine, Texas, West Virginia and New York.
The People's Action Institute, which led protests in April and July, said it was shocked by Thompson's death but nevertheless used the tragedy to highlight the “crisis of denial” in the United States. .
“We know there is a gun violence crisis in America. There is also a crisis of medical denials by private health insurance companies, including UnitedHealth,” the group said in a statement Wednesday.
“The People's Action Care Over Costs Campaign offers people a productive, non-violent and democratic way to bring about change. Both of these crises must end. Our political leaders must act on both,” they added.
