Insurance company murder is outrageous. So are methods used to deny claims | Opinion

Criminal behavior

There is no justification for the cold-blooded shooting of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, but there is also no justification for the persistent and cold-blooded methods insurance companies use to deny and delay benefits to people in life-threatening situations. People paid for this much-needed insurance coverage.

We should be just as outraged at crimes committed behind the desk with a pen as with crimes committed on the street with a gun. Tellingly, immediately after the killing, one insurance company reversed its decision to deny coverage for additional anesthesia when surgeries go overtime.

Insurance companies know that what they are doing to enrich their bottom lines is unconscionable. Perhaps if the justice system held them accountable, desperate young men would not take matters into their own hands.

Helene Dudley,

Miami

Lies prevail

The Dec. 11 op-ed by Henry Hicks IV, “Resilience to disinformation starts at home,” reads like an honest and forthright attempt to imply that the dangers of growing disinformation in our media and politics can be contained by “trust in one another.” His advocacy work through PEN America’s Disinformation and Engagement program is admirable. Yet there seems to be so much evidence this struggle against disinformation may not succeed.

Professor Timothy Snyder writes in his book, “On Tyranny,” that “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom…Accepting untruth of a radical kind requires blatant abandonment of reason.” That is the purpose of disinformation, making people believe what is not true. Disinformation is propaganda and there’s plenty of evidence in our nation that voters have been willing to discard the truth.

As Joseph Goebbels, chief propaganda minister for Germany’s World War II-era Nazi Party, once stated, “In propaganda as in love, anything is permissible which is successful.”

Former president now President-elect Donald Trump is a promoter of lies and this has been far more successful than Hicks’ PEN program.

Edward Blanco,

Cutler Bay

Emotional weight

Re: Tim Padgett’s Dec. 12 Miami Herald op-ed, “Biden’s pardon sets a foul example for the Americas.” In his first presidency, Donald Trump pardoned 237 people who had been charged or convicted of criminal offenses at the federal level.

President Joe Biden recently pardoned 39 nonviolent offenders and commuted the sentences of 1,500 who were put under house arrest during COVID-19.

I concur with Padgett that it was disappointing when Biden reneged on his word to not pardon his son. The impending threat of retribution by President-elect Trump, however, justifies this reversal. Perhaps Padgett would do the same for his son under similar circumstances.

Pat Singleton,

Coral Gables

Chief conceits

Hubris describes a personality marked by excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency. President Joe Biden showed hubris in not keeping his pledge to be a one-term transitional president. This denied debates over his policies by new leadership in the Democratic Party.

Claiming a landslide mandate (despite winning by about 1% of the popular vote), President-elect Donald Trump has nominated corrupt and incompetent extremists to critical roles in his cabinet. Trump reminds us of the chaos, cruelty and overreach that marred his first term. His arrogant actions and attitude are direct threats to the well-being and defense of our country.

Trump’s muse, Elon Musk, has said Americans must suffer the “hardship” of $2 trillion in cuts to public spending. If Trump fails to deliver on the hopes he has inspired, especially among his new supporters, he and the MAGA party will likely pay a price in 2026.

In Greek mythology, hubris was a fatal flaw that caused the downfall of heroes. How much damage will Trump and MAGA cause our democracy and our stature in the free world?

Karen Adler,

Hollywood Beach

Insurance disparities

While there is no justification for Luigi Mangione’s shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the resulting news coverage has brought to public attention the inequities and costs for people who need health protection.

Insurance companies are at the helm of the health industry. Their lobby in Washington, D.C. is strong and effective. They have been instrumental in politicizing how coverage is created, managed and distributed. Those with the least voices are the patients, then the non-doctor providers, then the doctors.

Administrators and insurers determine who is covered, how and at what price. The quality and dispensing of medicine is out of the hands of medically trained professionals. Their parameters are determined by others.

Should there be brakes on the amount of testing and procedures given?

Absolutely. Otherwise, doctors and hospitals would order excessive treatment and run up the bill. Even today, this is done for those with “Cadillac” insurance. Corporate insurance 25 to 30 years ago was better and more widespread. Costs rose and insurance companies began restricting and questioning procedures more.

Now the pendulum has swung, giving insurers the clout to restrict. Those able to afford the best coverage or those with Medicare or Medicaid are well-covered. Those with poor insurance and poor or no supplements are not well-covered.

Originally, Medicare was inexpensive and covered fully. No longer.

Michael G. Merhige,

Kendall

Bogus honor

TIME magazine’s choice of Donald Trump as Person of the Year does a disservice to the honest, upstanding, caring, compassionate individuals in this world. Trump, aside from being a serial liar and a patron of dictators, is vile and depraved. Whatever actions he takes are intended to enhance his bloated sense of self-importance.

Although TIME reports that the person chosen is not a statement of approval but a “reflection of a figure’s significance,” Trump sees it as an honor and bathes in its glow. Shame on TIME.

Ellen D. Coulton,

South Miami

Achilles’ heel?

That Kimberly Guilfoyle is an avid supporter of President-elect Donald Trump is no reason to have nominated her as ambassador to Greece. She has no diplomatic experience. And, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan aggressively saber-rattling Greek islands in the eastern Aegean, that could become a liability.

What experience does Guilfoyle have in Greece? Has she done business there? Has she lived there?

Chances are she has little or no knowledge of Greek history, geography, culture, politics, mythology or art, never mind language. Her tart comment about Greek yogurt speaks volumes about her disdain for Greece. Worse, she once referred to Greeks as lazy freeloaders who must be punished.

Guilfoyle represents an odious choice for ambassador by an otherwise deft Trump. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis would do all Greeks a favor by rejecting her credentials.

Raul and Nikki Pupo,

Boca Raton

Wrong way street

I’m glad there’s a Donald Trump Boulevard in Hialeah, if only for one day, to remind its admirers of their unabashed poor decision-making. A wannabe right wing dictator is just as bad as a left wing dictator.

Have the memories of Fidel Castro’s actions in Cuba already been forgotten?

Marshall Sober,

Aventura

Self-flagellation

I am saddened but not really surprised to see the Miami Herald bend the knee to Donald Trump. Following in the repugnant steps of The Washington Post and L.A. Times, we see what obeying in advance looks like. The Herald’s Dec. 10 editorial, “Biden’s pardon sets a bad example,” used terms like “resounding victory” and “dire implication for the country.” These play into Trump’s hand.

Equating Hunter Biden with the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrectionists is exactly the nonsense propaganda Trump demands. The editorial signifies the unwillingness to resist. Stop giving him the support he craves but doesn’t deserve.

John Jarnagin,

Key Largo