Linda Peeno: Voice Lessons

After the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, TFP revisits a powerful essay by managed-care whistleblower Dr. Linda Peeno.

Die Mütter (The Mothers) 1921-22, woodcut by Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945)

After yesterday’s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the words “delay” and “deny”—written on bullet casings collected at the Manhattan crime scene—have taken on a sinister new meaning. While we don’t yet know, and may never know, the real motivation for the murder, we know that those two words can spell financial ruin or worse, death, for someone facing a life-threatening illness in the U.S. healthcare system.

Back in July 2022, TFP published the following essay by a brave physician turned ethicist, Dr. Linda Peeno, who dared to blow the whistle on the managed-care industry. Some readers may already be familiar with Dr. Peeno. Laura Dern played her in the 2002 docudrama “Damaged Care,” and she featured prominently in “Sicko,” Michael Moore’s 2007 documentary about the U.S. healthcare system. In the 1990s, Peeno’s medical expertise was used by corporate healthcare to deny care that she says would have sa…