Editing Luigi Mangione motivated by denied claims? (section)

== Public Reaction and Context of Denied Claims ==
Mangione’s case has unfolded against a backdrop of growing public anger over denied insurance claims in the U.S., which provides context for both his possible mindset and the response to the shooting. After the attack, there was a surge of attention to how frequently insurers reject claims. For example, an analysis by consumer site ValuePenguin (published months earlier) suddenly gained traction for highlighting that UnitedHealthcare denied about '''one-third of in-network medical claims in 2022''' – far above the national average denial rate of 16% (Luigi Mangione murder case draws scrutiny of health claim denial rates, with three of Maryland's top insurers higher than average - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet). (UnitedHealthcare disputed those figures as “highly inaccurate,” and interestingly, law enforcement asked the site to remove certain data points from that report after the shooting (Luigi Mangione murder case draws scrutiny of health claim denial rates, with three of Maryland's top insurers higher than average - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet).) Charts ranking insurers by claim denials began circulating widely on social media, fueling a '''public outcry about unfairness in the health insurance industry''' (Luigi Mangione murder case draws scrutiny of health claim denial rates, with three of Maryland's top insurers higher than average - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet). In this atmosphere, many observers immediately linked Thompson’s assassination to frustrations with insurance claim practices.

Indeed, a segment of the public has responded to Mangione with unsettling sympathy due to the claim-denial issue. An online fundraiser for his legal defense attracted over a thousand donations within days, accompanied by messages ''“supporting him and even celebrating the crime,”'' according to Reuters (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters) (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters). Many donors explicitly cite their anger at the healthcare system: one wrote, ''“Denying healthcare coverage to people is murder, but no one gets charged with that crime,”'' calling Thompson’s killing a “justifiable homicide” (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters). Several others simply echoed the phrase found on the shell casings – '''“Deny, Defend, Depose”''' – as a show of solidarity, pointing to tactics “some accuse insurers of using to avoid paying out claims” (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters). Outside the internet, protesters and graffiti have invoked similar sentiments. For instance, “Wanted” posters with health insurance CEOs’ faces appeared on walls in New York, and some street art and merchandise cast Mangione as a folk hero of anti-insurance sentiment (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters) (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters). Hats emblazoned with phrases like “'''Don’t Deny My Coverage'''” became available for purchase, illustrating how the incident tapped into widespread frustration over coverage denials (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters).

It’s important to note that while a niche group has lauded Mangione, the '''overall reaction condemns the violence'''. Law enforcement and most public voices have strongly denounced the murder, emphasizing that grievances with the healthcare system do not justify killing. As a former NYPD detective put it, supporters have turned Mangione into ''“a martyr for all the troubles people have had with their insurance companies,”'' but at the end of the day “he’s a stone-cold killer” in the eyes of the law (Luigi Mangione was charged with murder - then donations started pouring in | Reuters). This encapsulates the divided public narrative: the crime is broadly vilified, yet it has sparked a reckoning over why someone might be driven to such an extreme act.