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Support for Luigi Mangione, charged in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is part of the bitter messaging that's been bubbling up amid debate about health care in America since the CEO attack that captured the country's attention. (Mirabella and McDermid, 12/10)

Health insurance costs are far outpacing inflation, leaving more consumers on the hook each year for thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. At the same time, some insurers are rejecting nearly 1 in 5 claims. That double whammy is leaving Americans paying more for coverage yet sometimes feeling like they're getting less in return, experts say. Frustration over denials and medical costs has fueled an outpouring of vitriol against health insurance companies in the wake of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Picchi, 12/10)

The battle lines over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the ethics of the health care industry, are receiving additional scrutiny from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), the most high-profile politician yet to weigh in on the matter. Shapiro, who had been under consideration to be Vice President Harris’s running mate in this year’s election, pushed back hard against those who have sought to minimize the killing of Thompson. ... Shapiro, speaking at a Monday evening news conference, said, “In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: He is no hero.” (Stanage, 12/10)

Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare who was gunned down in a brazen killing in New York, was laid to rest this week at a private funeral service in his Minnesota hometown. On Monday ... family and friends of the slain executive gathered at a Lutheran church in Maple Grove, Minn., to mourn the loss of a husband and father who ascended from modest roots in Iowa to one of the most powerful roles in the health care industry. (Harris and Londoño, 12/10)

A law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said that at the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a handwritten document expressing anger with what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed and power. He wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin. (Sisak and Scolforo, 12/11)

Chronic back pain is a common and sometimes debilitating health condition with many possible causes. ... Statistics differ on the number of people who suffer with back pain—but all sources consistently say that, in the U.S., the number is high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2021 that 20.9 percent of U.S. adults—that's 51.6 million people—had chronic pain, and in 2019 the National Health Interview Survey found that 39 percent of adults had experienced back pain in the previous three months. (Willmoth, 12/10)

CBS News Miami sat down with Russell Lazega, an insurance claims attorney based in South Florida and asked him, what do you do when your claim is denied? "You have to go through the insurance company's internal appeals process. What a lot of folks don't know is that when you do that, you're creating a record to any future case or challenge to that appeal decision," said Lazega. Lazega adds, that it's critical to meticulously document every step of the process because if you fail to do that, it won't be considered later. (McAllister, 12/10)