AOC Explains How Americans View Denied Insurance Claims ‘As an Act of Violence’ in the Wake of CEO Shooting
Alan He/CBS News
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) explained Americans’ frustrations with the health insurance industry in the wake of the recent CEO shooting.
The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has proven to be an extremely polarizing moment. Some have praised the shooting and the person charged with the crime, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, due to the fact that a significant portion of citizens are unhappy with the health insurance industry and its supposed mistreatment of customers. Others have strongly condemned that praise.
On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez was asked by CBS News’s Alan He about the shooting. While emphasizing that she did not condone the violence, she acknowledged how those seeking medical coverage can feel another sort of violence when their claims are denied.
“This is not to comment, and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified,” she said, “but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them. People go homeless over the financial devastation of a diagnosis that doesn’t get addressed or, you know, the amount that they’re gonna have to cover with a surprise bill and things like that; and when we kind of talk about how systems are violent in this country in this passive way, our privatized health care system is like that for a huge amount of Americans.”
Ocasio-Cortez added that she didn’t have health insurance until she became an elected official.
