‘You People Are Next’: Woman Arrested for Allegedly Threatening Health Insurance Company After It Reportedly Denied Her Medical Claims
Photo by Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AP
A Florida woman who said BlueCross BlueShield denied her claims was charged on Tuesday after police say she threatened the health insurance giant.
According to the arrest affidavit, Briana Boston, 42, of Lakeland, called the company regarding her claims. Toward the end of the call, which was recorded, authorities stated that Boston said, “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.”
Her words echoed those found on shell casings at the scene of 52-year-old Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO who was gunned down last week. The casings reportedly featured the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.” The words appear to be a nod to the 2010 book called Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. After the shooting, the book surged to number three on Amazon’s bestseller list.
In that case, police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in connection with the slaying. Mangione has become something of a folk hero among a section of the population angry at the for-profit health insurance industry.
Boston reportedly told police she uttered the words “because it’s what is in the news right now” and that she learned about them from the Thompson killing. Police said she added that she does not own a firearm and “was not a danger to anyone.”
“She readily admitted that, ‘Yeah that’s exactly what I said but I didn’t mean anything by it’,” Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said. “Well, you don’t get to pull that back after you say it.”
“[H]ealthcare companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil,” the affidavit quoted her as saying.
During a bond hearing, Boston’s lawyer said his client is married with three children and has no criminal record. He asked the judge to release her on her own recognizance. Instead, the judge set bond at $100,000.
“I do find that the bond of $100,000 is appropriate considering the status of our country at this point,” the judge said.
