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Who was Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO shot and killed in Midtown?
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Dec 4, 2024
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Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Dec 4, 2024
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About the shooting
- A gunman shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown at 6:46 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, according to police.
- Thompson was shot in the chest and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased, police said.
- “This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters.
- Read more about the shooting here.
Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO who was fatally shot while visiting Manhattan for an investor conference on Wednesday, was one of the country’s top health executives.
NYPD officials said at a press briefing that he appeared to be targeted by a gunman who waited for him outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel on Sixth Avenue before escaping. They said the shooting does not appear to be a random act of violence but they’re still investigating any possible motive, and that effort includes speaking with Thompson’s employees. The shooter was still at large as of Wednesday afternoon, according to officials.
Thompson helmed UnitedHealthcare as the company continued to increase its reach within the U.S. health care market but also faced heightened scrutiny for its business practices.
Thompson, 50, was appointed CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021, at a time when it had already established itself as a dominant force in the insurance market. UnitedHealthcare is the country’s largest private health insurer and is part of UnitedHealth Group, which is also the country’s largest employer of physicians.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson,” UnitedHealth Group said in a statement. “Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him.”
Thompson was at the hotel for the UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference, which was called off once the company learned of the shooting. He is survived by his two children and his wife Paulette Thompson, a physical therapist. She told NBC News on Wednesday that her husband had received threats prior to his death but she didn’t know about the details.
Thompson's sister-in-law Elena Reveiz told the New York Times that Thompson was both a good person and a good father to his children.
UnitedHealth Group brought in more than $100 billion in revenue in the first three months of 2024, up nearly 7% from the same period last year, according to financial statements. But UnitedHealthcare has also faced increasing scrutiny, including over denials of coverage.
In an October report by Democratic staff on a U.S. Senate Homeland Security subcommittee, the company came under fire for more than doubling the rate at which it denied insurance claims for post-hospital care for members of its Medicare Advantage plans between 2020 and 2022 — outpacing other large insurers that were investigated for the practice.
The U.S. Department of Justice took action last month to rein in UnitedHealth Group’s dominance in the health care industry, filing a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the company from acquiring rival home health care and hospice agencies in what would be a $3.3 billion deal.
Thompson graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 and started his career at the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers before joining UnitedHealth Group’s corporate development team in 2004, according to his LinkedIn profile. He later served as chief financial officer of various divisions at UnitedHealthcare before leading the insurer’s Medicare and retirement business as well as its government programs.
Tagged
manhattan
public safety
midtown
Health and Science
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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