In great news for investors, a new study found that major healthcare companies have paid out $2.6 trillion to shareholders over the past 20 years in the form of dividends and share buybacks, and those payments are increasing. Bad news for patients: Some of that money could’ve been spent on, well, healthcare.
The study, published Feb. 10 in JAMA, found that publicly traded S&P 500 healthcare companies paid shareholders a total of $170.2 billion in 2022, up 315% from payouts of just $54 billion in 2001.
On average, these companies spent 95% of their net income on shareholder payouts, and healthcare facilities, healthcare distributors, and pharmaceutical companies paid shareholders more money than their net income.
Big pharma has netted the most money for shareholders by far. The 19 publicly traded pharmaceutical companies in the study paid out $1.2 trillion to shareholders—45.7% of the total amount paid by 92 healthcare companies from 2001 to 2022.
The study’s authors, a group of Yale University researchers, wrote that these findings have “critical implications.” Money spent on shareholders is money not reinvested into patients, they argued.
“Increasing capital distributions to shareholders of publicly traded companies may be associated with higher prices and may not be reinvested in improving access, delivery, or research and development,” the authors wrote. “This dynamic raises questions about healthcare spending effectiveness, efficiency, and equity.”
The study comes at a time where US consumers are expressing frustration with the current healthcare system, with 54% of respondents saying it has “major problems” in a December Gallup poll.
In January, a Senate investigation concluded that private equity-backed hospitals prioritize profit over patients. In February, parents sued a pharmacy and pharmacy benefit manager over the death of their 22-year-old son after the companies’ alleged negligence made it difficult for him to afford his asthma inhaler, according to the Washington Post.
Navigate the healthcare industry
Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.