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CVS Health ( CVS ) removed photos of executive leadership from its

site

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Security experts say healthcare companies will consider

increasing physical security

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Threats in healthcare sector have been rising since

pandemic

By Amina Niasse and Manas Mishra

NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Health insurance companies

are reassessing the risks for their top executives after the

murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday in

Manhattan, with both UnitedHealth ( UNH ) and rival CVS Health ( CVS )

removing photos of their leadership teams from their websites

after the shooting.

UnitedHealthcare, part of UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ), is the

biggest U.S. insurer. CVS operates Aetna, another top insurer.

Thompson was killed in an attack police called targeted as

he was about to enter the Hilton hotel for the company's annual

investor conference. The gunman, whose crime was recorded on

video, is at large and the New York City Police Department said

there was no known motive for the murder.

Robert D'Amico, founder of Sierra One Consulting, who

previously worked with the FBI, said the removal of photos

showed, "These companies are hearing what experts like me have

been saying about how easy it is to identify and then find their

executives."

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) took down Thompson's and other executives'

photos from its website on Wednesday. A spokesperson did not

respond to a query asking what the motivation was. CVS removed

pictures of all its top executives on Thursday. The company

declined to comment.

D'Amico and a second security expert, who said they are

constantly assessing risk for top executives based on news

events or the business their companies conduct, expect companies

to ramp up physical security for executives.

The healthcare sector in the last 18 months has explored new

security measures as they encountered increasing conflict and

the potential for violent crime, said Glen Kucera, president of

Enhanced Protection Services at security firm Allied Universal.

Before the shooting, most risk assessment efforts were

conducted for medical practices and other healthcare providers,

which have faced increasing hostility from the public since the

COVID-19 pandemic.

Rising demand for protection in hospitals and healthcare

facilities is in line with most customer-facing industries, said

Garett Seivold, chief content and communications officer at the

International Security Ligue.

Assessing risk involves searching social media and trying to

determine whether threats have been made, circumstances which

have not been made public regarding Thompson, Kucera said.

Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News on Wednesday that

he had been receiving some threats related to his job and

"coverage" but said she did not know the details. A spokesperson

for UnitedHealthcare did not have an immediate comment on

possible threats against Thompson.

"I think there's going to be a lot of executives that are

going to say, 'Hey, you know, this could happen to me and we

should really consider our security protocol going forward,'"

Kucera said.

D'Amico said he expects corporate boards of directors to

reassess their security plans for executives.

That would include asking for assessments on how big a

security detail to deploy while weighing the cost. Someone like

billionaire Elon Musk has 20 people around them every day, he

said.

He pointed to angry social media posts which appeared to

show people verbally attacking health insurance companies and

employees in the immediate aftermath of Thompson's murder.

"I think the healthcare companies are going to see that and

realize that there's more hate out there for them and their

executives," D'Amico said.

Consumer frustration with health insurance in the U.S. has

been high for years and led to the 2010 Affordable Care Act,

popularly known as Obamacare. This year, insurance companies

have struggled to hold down costs and have talked about their

increased use of medical management, which includes making it

more difficult to quickly receive coverage for services like

surgery or medicines.

It is not known whether Thompson's job played any role in

his death, but the shooting has brought attention to increasing

tension with the healthcare industry.

Cigna ( CI ), Elevance, Centene ( CNC ) and Molina

did not respond to requests for comment about whether

they were making any security changes now or had done so.

Health insurers do not provide details on their spending on

security for executives in financial regulatory filings.