UnitedHealth CEO’s assassination: a brutal reality check on healthcare customer sentiment

Healthcare systems everywhere face pressure, but in the US, the problem runs far deeper. The murder of a CEO—an extreme, unacceptable act—reflects a growing sentiment that the system doesn’t serve the people, but rather, extracts from them.

At its core, healthcare should be about access, care, and outcomes. Instead, it has become a financial labyrinth where patients are left to navigate high costs, opaque billing practices, and insurance loopholes that can mean the difference between life-saving treatment and financial ruin. This isn’t just an insurance issue—it’s a failure across the ecosystem.

Health insurers have long been viewed with suspicion, but the visceral reaction to this event shows that public trust has eroded to dangerous levels. The perception is clear: insurers aren’t seen as facilitators of care, but as barriers to it.

• Patients feel that coverage is designed to deny rather than enable access to necessary treatments.
• Pre-authorisations, denied claims, and unexpected out-of-pocket costs breed resentment.
• Rising premiums and record-breaking profits make it clear that business incentives don’t align with patient well-being.

UnitedHealth alone generated over $400 billion in revenue last year, resulting in a profit of $14.4 billion yet many of its members struggle to afford basic care. That kind of disparity fuels anger—and now, as we’ve seen, real-world consequences.

Pharma has long distanced itself from direct responsibility for patient suffering, positioning itself as a provider of innovation rather than an architect of the system. But in an environment where patients are increasingly angry at the cost of care, that position is no longer tenable.

High drug prices are seen as driven by corporate greed rather than research investment.

Patent strategies and exclusivity deals, designed to protect margins, are keeping life-saving treatments out of reach.

The industry’s relationship with insurance and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) makes it impossible to escape guilt by association.

This event should serve as a wake-up call. People aren’t just frustrated—they’re reaching a breaking point. Pharma companies need to take a hard look at how they can improve access, affordability, and trust, before the tide turns even further against them.

For doctors, nurses, and hospital systems, this is a precarious moment. Many already feel caught between the demands of corporate healthcare models and the needs of their patients. This event underscores just how fragile that balance has become.

• HCPs are the human face of a system many distrust. Patients may know that physicians don’t set policy, but they still feel the effects of rushed appointments, denied procedures, and impersonal care.
• Administrative burdens are suffocating clinical decision-making. Electronic health record systems, insurance approvals, and performance metrics often pull doctors away from patient care.
• Moral distress is at an all-time high. Many HCPs know their patients aren’t getting the best possible care, but are powerless to change it.

This is an industry-wide identity crisis. Who is healthcare really for? Until that question is answered with clarity, HCPs will remain stuck between frustrated patients and corporate policies they don’t control.

If ever there was a moment for disruptive innovation in healthcare, this is it. Patients want affordability, access, and transparency. But achieving that requires more than just new tech or better processes—it demands a fundamental shift in how the industry operates.

The problem? The system is deeply entrenched.

• Insurance, pharma, providers, PBMs, and investors all profit from the status quo. Change threatens too many stakeholders.
• Regulatory complexities make disruption difficult. Even well-intentioned reforms can take years to materialize.
• Most past “innovations” have focused on efficiency, not systemic fairness. Patients are tired of digital tools that make paperwork easier but don’t lower costs.

Digital health solutions hold promise, but only if the incentives are right.

• Price transparency tools can help patients make informed decisions, but only if pricing structures are fair to begin with.
• AI-driven diagnostics and automation can reduce inefficiencies, but not if insurers use them to justify more denials.
• Virtual care and digital-first models can improve access, but not if they’re just a way to cut costs rather than deliver better patient outcomes.

Technology alone won’t fix healthcare. But customer sentiment and disruptive transformation could inspire a recalibration of the system—putting more control in the hands of patients and providers. The key is ensuring that innovation is designed for patient benefit, not just profitability.

The murder of a healthcare CEO is not a rational response to a broken system—but the level of support it has garnered cannot be ignored. It reflects a deep, dangerous disconnect between the industry and the people it serves.

The question is: how can insurers, pharma, and healthcare providers turn this moment of crisis into a catalyst for meaningful, patient-first transformation?

The answer isn’t just in policy shifts or technology alone—it’s in how we design healthcare experiences to be more intuitive, accessible, and aligned with patient needs. From digital strategy to experience transformation, the industry has an opportunity to rebuild trust by putting human-centred design at the core of innovation.

Here’s the real question—who will take the lead in designing a healthcare system that truly serves people first?