Woman arrested after telling her health insurer ‘you people are next’

A 42-year-old woman from Florida has been arrested and charged after police say she threatened her health insurance provider over a recently denied medical claim, repeating a common phrase from critics of the health care industry that had been inscribed on ammunition casings found next to slain UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.

According to an affidavit obtained by the Washington Post, Briana Boston of Lakeland contacted Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield on Tuesday after the company denied her medical insurance claim. Toward the end of the recorded phone call with her health insurer, Boston told an agent: “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.”

The words, “delay, deny, depose,” reference tactics insurance companies have used to decline or limit medical claims. They were engraved on bullet casings found outside a midtown Manhattan hotel where 26-year-old Luigi Mangione is suspected of gunning down Thompson earlier this month.

Boston’s Tuesday arrest comes as consumer frustration with insurance companies and the broader U.S. health care system balloon. More than half of Americans say the quality of U.S. health care is fair or poor, while only 28% say health care coverage in the U.S. is excellent or good, according to a December survey conducted by Gallup. In 2023, nearly a third of Americans gave health insurance companies a poor rating, according to Gallup.

Investigators believe Mangione, who has been charged in New York with second-degree murder, was acting on animus toward the health insurance industry. Mangione appeared to harbor resentment over a painful spinal condition, according to the Post.

When a Lakeland law enforcement official asked Boston about her comments, she said “health care companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil,” according to the affidavit.

Boston’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The health care industry has been reeling from Thompson’s targeted Dec. 4 killing. Health care leaders are frequently subjected to threats because of the influence their decisions have on people’s access to critical medical care. Thompson’s death has prompted officials to reexamine security practices, with UnitedHealth opting to remove the webpage listing the photos and bios of its top executives.

In the affidavit, Lakeland Police Department said the FBI had informed them of Boston’s phone call.

Boston later apologized for her comments, according to the affidavit, telling police that she learned of the phrase from the UnitedHealth shooting. She told police she did not own any firearms and was not a danger to anyone.

Boston has been charged with making threats to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism and has pleaded not guilty.

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Daniel Gilbert, Shayna Jacobs and Shannon Najmabadi contributed to this report.