According to reporting by Joe Marino, Ben Kochman and Matt Troutman last week, health insurance leaders pressured the DOJ to make an example of Luigi Mangione by bringing federal charges against him in a surprise announcement that caught his lawyers
the top three DOJ officials under Attorney General Merrick Garland have all represented massive healthcare companies during their respective stints in private practice before joining the DOJ.
Lisa Monaco, the Deputy U.S. Attorney General previously worked as a partner at the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP. At O’Melveny & Myers, Monaco represented Humana–the fifth largest U.S. health insurance company–according to her financial disclosures. Notably, O’Melveny & Myers also successfully defended United Health in a suit brought by United health group insured patients earlier this year.
Health “insurance” company, not provider.
The number three at DOJ, Acting Associate AG Benjamin Mizer, also represented healthcare and pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis, among others firms.
While not an insurance company, Sanofi-Aventis (now Sanofi) was provably corrupt and predatory on multiple occasions in multiple countries and was/is VERY much part of the same problem as United Health and the rest of the health insurance leech industry.
Finally, #4 at DOJ, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prolegar, reported Lumos Pharma, Syneos Health, and Amgen, as former clients on her disclosure.
In conclusion: while you’re technically right that only one of them worked for INSURANCE companies, they all worked for health sector companies that were and are part of the problem, so it’s a distinction without importance in this case.
It also disproved the “once the crisis is big enough, everyone will hold hands and work together for the common good” myth that pro-establishment people used to trot out to mollify critics of the status quo.
The people radicalized by a combination of the inequities of the status quo and the gaslighting of opportunistic far right politicians (who are of course themselves very much part of the establishment) didn’t suddenly set their collective delusions of self-sufficiency and their scapegoating of vulnerable people aside to help themselves and other people get through the pandemic as safely as possible. They only got WORSE.
On a local level, we really do see humans band together to overcome crises. But not everyone, not all the time. And on a national level, stopping the rich motherfuckers is a struggle that goes back millenia.
Some people think that “progress will happen” as if it’s inevitable that society improves over time. But a quick glance at history proves otherwise.
A quick glance at history also shows which methods are the most effective. Which is why we have had decades of conditioning to push us in the other direction, for strategies that are loud and easily ignored.
This also helps explain the Texas Lt. Governor’s (?) plea to, “Let all the old people die. We need to get the economy moving again.” Health Care Insurance Inc. doesn’t want to pay money to treat people if we can convince everyone its cheaper to let them die.
Because of COURSE they did! 🤦🤬
The club you are in it’s bigger though, they don’t want you to find out about it.
There’s more of us than there are of them.
To put it another way:
There’s more Luigi’s than there are healthcare CEOs.
Yes that’s what I said
Something something el pueblo unido ✊
People keep conflating health care providers with the insurance companies which are in the health care denial business. These are not at all the same.
Health “insurance” company, not provider.
While not an insurance company, Sanofi-Aventis (now Sanofi) was provably corrupt and predatory on multiple occasions in multiple countries and was/is VERY much part of the same problem as United Health and the rest of the health insurance leech industry.
Syneos have been sued for firing people who take family leave that they’re legally entitled to and Amgen pleaded guilty to guilty to improper marketing that put patients at risk
In conclusion: while you’re technically right that only one of them worked for INSURANCE companies, they all worked for health sector companies that were and are part of the problem, so it’s a distinction without importance in this case.
I’m not saying there isn’t a problem here. But we need to be a bit more precise in the language.
Carlin is so relevant rn
He never hasn’t been.
Always was but yeah, seems moreso now than ever before. Because it’s gotten worse AND because we’ve gotten more aware of it.
The awareness is lovely to see.
Interestingly enough I don’t think we’d have arrived here without COVID. It broke the routine, slowed the inertia, pushed self reflection.
And it made the house of cards that is the healthcare system visible to all.
I agree completely.
It also disproved the “once the crisis is big enough, everyone will hold hands and work together for the common good” myth that pro-establishment people used to trot out to mollify critics of the status quo.
The people radicalized by a combination of the inequities of the status quo and the gaslighting of opportunistic far right politicians (who are of course themselves very much part of the establishment) didn’t suddenly set their collective delusions of self-sufficiency and their scapegoating of vulnerable people aside to help themselves and other people get through the pandemic as safely as possible. They only got WORSE.
On a local level, we really do see humans band together to overcome crises. But not everyone, not all the time. And on a national level, stopping the rich motherfuckers is a struggle that goes back millenia.
Some people think that “progress will happen” as if it’s inevitable that society improves over time. But a quick glance at history proves otherwise.
A quick glance at history also shows which methods are the most effective. Which is why we have had decades of conditioning to push us in the other direction, for strategies that are loud and easily ignored.
This also helps explain the Texas Lt. Governor’s (?) plea to, “Let all the old people die. We need to get the economy moving again.” Health Care Insurance Inc. doesn’t want to pay money to treat people if we can convince everyone its cheaper to let them die.