Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna appeared to seize upon the UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination drama and stoke populist outrage — but wound up wildly overstating private health insurance companies’ profit margins by $1.32 trillion.
Khanna (D-Calif.) took to X Monday and initially claimed that the seven “largest private health insurers collected $1.39 trillion in profit” in 2023 before retracting that statement and admitting that figure represented revenue, not profits.
“It is absurd that Big Insurance is raking in trillions while Americans are pinching pennies to afford treatment. We need Medicare for All now,” the Silicon Valley pol proclaimed.
His post got hit with a Community Note and the Dem rep later acknowledged in a correction that the real profit figure for the top seven health insurance companies was closer to $70.7 billion in profits during 2023.
For context, total US healthcare spending was roughly $4.8 trillion in 2023, according to a study published in Health Affairs. The US gross domestic product was just under $28 trillion last year.
Last week, an assassin shot former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, in the early morning hours outside a Sixth Avenue hotel. His company is the largest private health insurance provider in the US.
Authorities on Monday confirmed that they detained tech whiz Luigi Mangione, 26, as the suspect in the shooting.
Investigators have speculated that Mangione may have had a grudge against the healthcare industry as evidenced by an X-ray photo on his X account and the fact that he had books involving chronic back pain on his Goodreads account reading list, sources previously told The Post.
A former roommate suggested the now-suspected murderer may have spiraled after a “traumatic” back injury of his own that forced him to get surgery.
Upon Thompson’s slaying, scores of netizens seemingly cheered on his death, suggesting it was justice for his company turning down patient claims. Former Washington Post media journalist Taylor Lorenz shockingly said she took “joy” in the assassination.
Khanna, 48, has long been a proponent of Medicare for All. The congressman has argued that a single-payer system could tamp down administration costs and expand coverage.
But users pilloried him for flubbing the figures of health insurance profits when trying to tout the potential benefits of Medicare for All on Monday.
“This is not a ‘whoopsie.’ This is a ‘I have no idea what I’m talking about,’” user JB needled on X.
“Pretty major correction…Another way of saying this is: ‘7 Largest insurers paid out over $1T to healthcare providers,’” engine founder and CEO Sloane Barbour chided.
“Geez that’s quite a correction,” Matthew Langdon wrote on x.
“Your point isn’t affected by being off by a factor of 20? Interesting,” former congressional lawyer Mike Stern mused.
“What is that profit margin Ro?” user OriginalDangerRuss wrote. “If you’re math-challenged: 5.05% profit (gross) Assuming they price out the profit, then costs are still $1.3T. This system sucks, but ‘Medicare for All’ has its own (rationing) concerns.”
“Or in other words ‘U.S. health insurers paid hundreds of billions of dollars for the healthcare of their policy holders,’” user Board Observer Barry wrote.
Medicare for All gained popularity among progressives back in the 2016 election cycle where a version of it was championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Despite its name, Sanders’ version of Medicare for All deviated dramatically from Medicare in that it was far more comprehensive with no premiums, deductibles or copays. His plan also featured hearing, dental, vision and long-term care.
