• UnitedHealth Group's CEO eulogized his slain colleague, Brian Thompson, in a New York Times op-ed.
• Thompson's shooting sparked a nationwide debate about the state of the health insurance industry.
• Witty's op-ed faced fierce online criticism from people who said it didn't offer solutions.

The head of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, is responding to the "vitriol" that's been lodged — both on- and offline — against the health insurance industry and its workers.

In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Friday, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty expressed his grief over the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, as well as his appreciation for the "outpouring of support" for Thompson. He then condemned the mounting rhetoric that he said has glorified violence against health insurance workers.

"We also are struggling to make sense of this unconscionable act and the vitriol that has been directed at our colleagues who have been barraged by threats," Witty wrote.

"No employees — be they the people who answer customer calls or nurses who visit patients in their homes — should have to fear for their and their loved ones' safety," he wrote.

Witty acknowledged growing criticism that the healthcare industry is flawed and defended his company's place within it.

"We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people's frustrations with it," Witty wrote, adding that his company's mission is to build a system that works better for everyone.

And Thompson, he added, advocated for ideas "aimed at making health care more affordable, more transparent, more intuitive, more compassionate — and more human."

The fatal shooting of Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel last week sparked a nationwide conversation about the state of the US health insurance industry, with many criticizing the system's ability to provide lifesaving care.

Social media has been inundated with memes mocking Thompson's death, praising the shooting suspect, and calling out other healthcare CEOs. Some executives have sought out greater security over fears for their safety, though the suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with Thompson's murder.

Witty's op-ed in the Times had received more than 2,400 comments as of Friday afternoon, many of which ridiculed his statement and condemned what they said were UnitedHealth Group's practices of denying insurance claims.

A number of commenters called out Witty for saying the system is flawed without providing any tangible solutions to fix it. Others criticized the for-profit health insurance system as a whole, with some acknowledging that businesses are meant to make a profit and others advocating for nonprofit healthcare.

UnitedHealth didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• UnitedHealthcare's CEO appeared not to have a bodyguard when he was shot Wednesday in Manhattan.
• Two security consultants told Business Insider that was unusual.
• Even if he'd had a bodyguard, it may not have saved his life, one said.

Two executive-protection consultants say they were surprised UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson didn't appear to have a bodyguard when he was shot and killed walking into a hotel in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday — though one said it likely wouldn't have saved his life.

A "person of interest," 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, was arrested in connection with Thompson's death in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

It's not clear whether Thompson had a security detail, but in the video of the shooting shared by the New York City Police Department, he appears to be walking toward the hotel alone. A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brittney Blair, who specializes in consulting executives about their personal security for the risk-management firm K2 Integrity, said she was "floored, honestly," that Thompson did not appear to have a bodyguard.

"I've seen a lot of CEOs and high-profile business leaders who sometimes feel that corporate security is maybe a little bit overboard," she said. "They feel — I don't want to say untouchable, but they maybe underestimate how much of a public figure they are."

Thompson appeared to live somewhat modestly relative to the $10.2 million he received in compensation last year, in a combination of cash and stock grants, Securities and Exchange Commission records show. He resided in a Minneapolis suburb, in a home purchased for just over $1 million in 2018, tax records show.

His wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that her husband had received threats.

"There had been some threats," she said. "Basically, I don't know, a lack of coverage? I don't know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."

Paulette Thompson couldn't be reached for comment by BI.

Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who now runs the private-security firm LaSorsa & Associates, said that an around-the-clock protective detail costs in the neighborhood of $100,000 a month. But, he said, even if Thompson had such a security detail, it might not have stopped a motivated shooter.

"I know it sounds extreme, but you're not going to mitigate a killing if someone's hell-bent on doing it to you. Sooner or later, they're going to succeed," LaSorsa said.

If Thompson had been walking with a bodyguard, LaSorsa added, "and they'd both had their backs turned, they both would have been shot."