Mangione’s lawyer has cautioned against prejudging the case. Mangione, 26, has remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested on Monday. Manhattan prosecutors are working to bring him to New York to face a murder charge.
A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, said this week it was working with law enforcement to ensure a safe work environment and reinforce security guidelines and building access policies.
Something of a folk hero: A poster depicting Luigi Mangione outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.Credit: AP
The company has taken down the photos, names and biographies of its top executives from its websites, a spokesperson said. Other organisations, including CVS, the parent company for insurance giant Aetna, have taken similar actions.
Government health insurance provider Centene Corporation has announced its investor day will be held online rather than in person.
Medica, a Minnesota-based non-profit healthcare firm, said last week it was temporarily closing its six offices for security reasons and would have its employees work from home.
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Heightened security measures will probably make healthcare companies and their leaders less accessible to policyholders, said former Cigna executive Wendell Potter.
“And understandably so, with this act of violence. There’s no assurance that this won’t happen again,” said Potter, now an advocate for healthcare reform.
Private security firms and consultants have been in high demand, fielding calls almost immediately after the shooting from companies across a range of industries, including manufacturing and finance.
Companies have long faced security risks and grappled with how far to take precautions for high-profile executives. But these recent threats sparked by Thompson’s killing should not be ignored, said Dave Komendat, a former security chief for Boeing who heads his own risk-management company.
“The tone and tenor is different. The social reaction to this tragedy is different. And so I think that people need to take this seriously,” Komendat said.
Hours after the shooting, Komendat said he was on a call with dozens of chief security officers from big corporations, and there have been many similar meetings since, hosted by security groups or law enforcement agencies assessing the threats.
AP
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