A little over a year ago, on December 4th, 2024, CEO of United Health Care Brian Thompson arrived at the New York Hilton and Midtown Manhattan.

50-year-old Brian had worked for United Health Care since 2004. As its CEO, he supervised an organization that insured 49 million Americans, making it the largest health insurer at the time in the U.S.

one that generated $281 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year.

Ryan was undoubtedly very good at his job.

Under his leadership, UHC's profits increased from $12 billion in 2021 to $16 billion in

2023.

His total annual compensation was $10.2 million.

But not everything at work was perfect.

Just a few months earlier, United Health Care was named in an October 2024 report

from the United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that showed a, quote,

surge and denials for Medicare patients. And a few months before that, in May of 2024, a lawsuit was

filed against Thompson, along with three other senior executives for alleged fraud and insider

trading due to failing to disclose an antitrust investigation into the company

by the United States Department of Justice and by selling stock options before the probe was

made public. Perhaps Brian hoped, as he arrived at the Hilton at 6.40 a.m., that neither of those

things would come up in the meeting. But of course, those concerns would soon turn out to be null and void.

As he arrived, an assailant waited across the street, then crossed over when he identified

Thompson. From approximately 20 feet away, the assailant fired at him three times from a suppressed

9mm pistol, striking him in the back and right calf. At 7.12 a.m. Thompson will be declared

dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Already a confusing crime, investigators would be even more surprised when they found out what was

carved on the bullet casings. The words delay, deny, and depose. This assailant, as many of us know,

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