Sen. Warren warns health care industry after CEO’s murder ‘people can

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren asserted that violence is “never the answer” in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but warned people can be “pushed” to extremes.

The Massachusetts Democrat weighed in on the “visceral” response to Thompson being gunned down in New York City last week and the capture of the young man thought to be the suspect, during an interview with HuffPost on Tuesday.

Warren condemned the murder but warned about the healthcare industry as she responded to the celebratory reactions on social media.

“The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” she told the outlet.

“Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” Warren continued.

“This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone,” she added.

“The number of people I personally hear from, both in my official capacity and as somebody who stops and talks to people in the grocery store about how hard it is to get medical care that people have paid their insurance companies for over and over and over, is a reminder that this system is just broken,” Warren told HuffPost.

She echoed her remarks during an appearance on Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The ReidOut.”

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

“So, look, terrible for individuals, but stop and think, overall, about the social contract,” she told leftist host Joy Reid.

“Part of the deal in how we’ve kept this democracy, this economy, this country on a fairly steady path for more than 200 years has been that those at the top pay a little more in taxes, are a little less rich than they otherwise might be, and everybody else at least gets a chance. And what happens, when you turn this into the billionaires run it all, is they get the opportunity to squeeze every last penny,” Warren contended.

“And look, we’ll say it over and over, violence is never the answer, this guy gets a trial, who’s allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth[care]. But you can only push people so far, and then, they start to take matters into their own hands,” she stated, arguing for more regulation.

The former Democratic presidential candidate has long argued against healthcare giants putting profits over patient health. Her Senate colleague Bernie Sanders also spoke out on the “unacceptable” murder of the CEO. But the Vermont lawmaker pointed to a larger issue as health insurance companies have been targeted by backlash in the wake of Thompson’s death.

“I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit,” Sanders told HuffPost.

The concerning outpouring of support for the suspect and the hostility expressed toward the healthcare industry has prompted many Democrats to speak out.

“Hear me on this — he is no hero. … In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to express policy differences or a viewpoint,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday after the suspect was arrested in his state.

Democrat Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman also blasted the “vile” posts on social media celebrating an “a–hole that’s going to die in prison.”

“Congratulations if you want to celebrate that. A sewer is going to sewer,” he told HuffPost.

“If you gun someone down that you don’t happen to agree with their views or the business that they’re in, hey, you know, I’m next, they’re next,” he said. “And people want to celebrate it. It’s twisted.”

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.