Axios looked at fourth-quarter financial reports and investor calls from 21 publicly traded healthcare companies, and found that they'll all be making a pretty penny from the Republican tax scam, but healthcare consumers are unlikely to see lower costs as a result.
What we found: 21 companies collectively expect to gain $10 billion in tax savings in 2018 alone. Most of the money is going toward share buybacks, dividends, acquisitions and paying down debt—with just a sliver for one-time employee bonuses, research and internal investments.
- UnitedHealth Group accounts for a quarter of that total, and a majority of UnitedHealth's windfall is going to Wall Street and executives.
- Most pharmaceutical companies were not included in this analysis because their figures weren't precise enough. But we already know they're spending at least $50 billion on new share buyback programs.
- Many drug and medical device companies also brought back tens of billions of offshore dollars that, after the repatriation tax, will flow directly to their bottom lines this year and in future years.
The big picture: The tax law is "unlikely to lead to significant, long-lasting savings for patients," said Erik Gordon, a health care business professor at the University of Michigan.
Why should the health sector be any different from the others? The new tax law is a total windfall for stockholders, for CEOs, for the 1 percent. We're not likely to see even a few drops when it comes to healthcare costs, much less a trickle.