New research led by scientists at Yale School of Medicine finds shareholder payouts among large, publicly traded health care companies increased more than threefold between 2001 and 2022.
In a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the Yale team examined data from Refinitiv Workspace on all health care companies listed on the S&P 500 for at least 1 quarter between December 1, 2001 and December 31, 2002. Researchers say over that span, the average number of health care companies on the S&P 500 increased from 30 to 60 per given year. Shareholder payouts increased 315%, from $54 billion in 2001 to $170.2 billion in 2022, with 19 (of 92) companies accounting for 80.4% of payouts. On average, S&P 500 companies in the health care sector allocated 95% of net income to shareholder payouts.
“This is a study that ‘follows the money,'” said Cary Gross, MD, professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and senior author of the study. “There has been a great deal of concern about the ‘privatization’ of the healthcare system, with for-profit companies taking on a larger and larger role. An important question is where does the money that flows through the healthcare system, and to these for-profit companies, go?”
Gross is available for comment on the research letter’s findings and the potential for greater re-investment in access, delivery, and research and development.
