UnitedHealth Shooting Dredges Up Enmity for Health Insurers (1)

The shooting death of high-ranking UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson has uncovered a deep anger among Americans who say the health insurance industry has too often failed to cover large medical bills and stood in the way of necessary care.

“There’s clearly a sense of real discontent and distrust of the industry revealed in social media,” said Brian Klepper, principal of the Healthcare Performance Inc. consulting firm. “That’s not a healthy environment for an industry to prosper.”

The reaction to the shooting is a wake-up call for sprawling companies that have seen their profits and stock prices rise ...