Revealed: Meaning of cryptic message written on bullets assassin used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as his wife reveals his family had received mystery 'threats'

he words scrawled on the bullets used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson closely resemble the title of a book criticizing insurance companies and the tactics they use to deny claims, it has been revealed.

Health insurance boss Brian Thompson, 50, was shot in the back and calf early on Wednesday by a masked man who appeared to be waiting for him outside the Hilton hotel in Manhattan, before succumbing to his injuries in hospital.

Detectives investigating the shooting reportedly found shell casings with the words 'depose', 'deny' and 'defend' inscribed on them.

They are now working to determine what the words mean and if they could possibly hint at a motive for the slaying of the 50-year-old.

Curiously, the messages bear similarity to the title of a 2010 book on 'why insurance companies don't pay claims and what you can do about it', called 'Delay, Deny, Defend'.

Critics allege the tactic is used by insurance companies to 'ensure your claim is either never paid or paid at a rate far below what you deserve'.

The revelation came as Mr Thompson's grieving widow, with whom he has two sons, claimed that her husband had received threats before he was shot.

'There had been some threats,' Paulette Thompson, 51, told NBC News as she broke her silence in her first comments since her husband was killed.

If you lost a loved one because 9f their aggressive denial of care, you would understand.

United and Humana work together and are pretty much the same.

I did battle with them when a family member had a stroke and required rehabilitation. Seven times I had to file appeals to protest their denial of service.

The critical period for stroke recovery is in the weeks immediately following the stroke. After a week they said no more rehab. This was nursing home rehab that was very expensive.

I would no more win one appeal and they would deny care again, in the same week.

My wife is a Dr at the hospital and we made sure we had the top Dr’s on this. We made sure they emphasized the necessity of immediate rehab for best recovery.

Finally, I threatened malpractice on the Humana Dr. Reviewing the case as he was giving an opinion outside his area of practice, without even examining the patient.

She had the best Humana plan available with full payment for rehab on days 41 through 100. While she was in rehab they changed her coverage to not pay.

I totally understand the frustration people have with the very aggressive denial of needed treatment.

I analyzed their financial statement and saw their profits jump almost a billion dollars per year as a result of the change.

If you map the ownership, it’s political.

“That is a huge company. How is he walking around without bodyguards?”

He’s only the second CEO I’ve known of to be attacked. The other was the CEO of Rheinmetall and that was an attempted assassination by the FSB. So, it’s pretty unusual.

The reason people like Zukerberg have guards is to prevent kidnapping, rather than death.

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