The American Way

Our society is sick and UnitedHealthcare will surely deny any claim for treatment. It’s The American Way.

I needn’t rehash the assassination of UHC CEO Brian Thompson or the story of Luigi Mangione, the killer whose act is being applauded by millions. I’m not applauding, but have empathy for the victims of a greedy corporation’s amoral and immoral policies and algorithms. Navigating a boatload of fairly recent health issues through Medicare is about the only reason I’m glad I’m old. My care has been seamless and nearly free. Every person should have the same.

By cosmic and somewhat comic coincidence, the day of Thompson’s murder was also the day of a hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. It’s a short tangent.
The hearing was about “junk fees” charged by airlines for baggage, seat selection and other services. Senator Richard Blumenthal said:

“Our investigation found that in 2023 alone, American, Delta, United, Frontier and Spirit collected more than $3 billion in seat fees — only seat fees. That’s not airfare, that’s just fees for booking a specific seat in advance, or selecting a slightly better seat.”

The hearing got sparse attention, as did most other things on December 4th. But, courtesy of C-Span radio, it got my full attention as I engaged in my hobby of staying in the car while my wife and daughter shop. The hearing exposed the same poverty of integrity that the murder revealed.

These airline industry practices are not news to any traveler, but the magnitude of the greed and the devious strategies were somewhat of a revelation. From a CBS News report:

“Overall, five U.S. carriers collected $12.4 billion in seat fees between 2018 and 2023, in addition to baggage and other charges, according to a report released last week by Democrats on the subcommittee.”

I invite any reader to report an instance of airplane seats being a better experience in recent years!

This may be unsurprising. Air travel pricing has been incomprehensible for decades, and the opacity is a very intentional, frustrating and profitable strategy. The American Way.
Comic relief was on offer from both Senators and airline execs. Senator Josh Hawley was his usual offensive and abrasive self, but for a justifiable cause in this instance. He offered this gem:

“You guys do appreciate that flying on your airlines is a disaster, don’t you? Flying on your airlines is horrible, it’s a terrible experience. I mean, I say this as a father of three young children . . . nobody enjoys flying on your airlines, it’s a disaster.” 

The Subcommittee investigation revealed that Spirit and Frontier have an incentive program that pays gate agents to nitpick about carryon baggage, forcing passengers to pay up to $77 to gate check. The incentives paid in 2022 and 2023 added up to $26 million.

The airline executives were a mumbling and evasive clown show. The phrase “guest experience” was trotted out several times. Every deceptive process was described as providing “equity.” Perhaps on some ironic level they really meant shareholder equity.

It was apparent that they resented and did not understand the scrutiny. After all, it is The American Way.

There isn’t enough room to fully explicate the widespread reality of The American Way as exemplified by UnitedHealthcare and our airlines, but I’ll list a few.

Property and auto insurance companies enhance the “guest experience” by exorbitant rate increases and nearly random cancellations. Costly extended warranties and seductive, but rapacious, payment plans accompany many if not most product purchases. Oil change facilities lie about change intervals and scare “guests” into other needless products and services. Subscription plans renew automatically, details in indecipherable fine print.

I suppose somewhere an enterprising car dealer is still pushing rustproofing to go along with the utterly devious rebate, financing and trade-in practices. In the car business, as in so many others, the negotiating game is just like in casinos. The dealer always wins. Life insurance plans are peddled constantly on television, where low premiums are pitched, but the coverage is minimal and actual costs are exorbitant. Intentionally deceptive and dishonest. Carshield and other extended warranty programs are rip-offs, profiting by scaring the “guests.”

Going full circle, the constant drone of ads for Medicare Advantage programs has been deafening. Older folks are enticed by promises of “dental and hearing benefits,” when the programs maximize profit by “deny, delay, depose,” as Luigi Mangione memorialized on bullet casings. One free dental cleaning is the trade-off for a denied cancer treatment. At least the corpse looks better in the coffin, I suppose.

Hearing the responses from UnitedHealthcare and the airline executives made me think they are genuinely perplexed. After the murder, Brian Thompson’s replacement as CEO told employees, “Our role is a critical role, and we make sure that care is safe, appropriate, and is delivered when people need it.” I guess they have free Kool-Aid in the executive dining room.

The glorification of free markets and wealth accumulation demands that they do anything “legal” to maximize returns for shareholders and executives.

The chasm between “legal” and “ethical” is not one for them to consider, but the rest of us fall into it.

Unfortunately for his family, so did Brian Thompson.