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1. Chapter 1: Rise of a Massive Health Sector
- 1.1 Growth in Health Spending, 1929 to Present
- 1.2 Growth in Inflation-Adjusted Health Output per Capita over 80 Years
- 1.3 Ever-Growing Health Share of Economy
- 1.4 US Spends the Most on Health among Countries
- 1.5 Health Spending Outgrew Economy
- 1.6 Health Spending Rose in All Advanced Countries
- 1.7 Big and Increasing Gap in Health Spending between US and Rest of the World
2. Chapter 2: How Is Each Health Dollar Spent?
- 2.1 Most Health Spending Is for Personal Services
- 2.2 Personal Health Spending Doubled Every 25 Years
- 2.3 Insurer Administrative Costs Decline in Group Size
- 2.4 Trends for Components of Health Spending, 1929 to 2009
- 2.5 Chronic Diseases Account for Big and Increasing Share of Health Spending
- 2.6 Half or More of Personal Health Spending Is Avoidable
3. Chapter 3: Who Pays for Health Services?
- 3.1 Role of Public Sector in US Health Financing Has Increased
- 3.2 Private Health Insurance Pays Less Than Public
- 3.3 Health Insurance Financed Growth in Health Spending
- 3.4 Federal Tax Subsidies for Health Exceed Federal Spending on Medicaid
- 3.5 Out-of-Pocket Share of Health Spending Declined
- 3.6 US Has among the Lowest Out-of-Pocket Share of Health Spending
- 3.7 The Elderly & the Disabled Account for Disproportionately Large Share of Medicaid Spending
- 3.8 Medicare Pays for Less than Half of Health Spending by Beneficiaries
- 3.9 The Uninsured Received Much Subsidized Care
4. Chapter 4: The Employer Rold in U.S. Health Care
- 4.1: Health-Related Employer Contributions Accounted for a Growing Share of Worker Compensation
- 4.2: High-Paid Workers Receive Larger Tax Subsidy for Employer-Provided Health Insurance
- 4.3 Small Firms Least Likely Offer Health Coverage to Employee
- 4.4 A Secular Decline In Employer-Based Health Coverage
5. Chapter 5: Government Health Expenditures, Taxes, and Deficits
- 5.1 Government Expenditures for Health, 1929-2009
- 5.1 Bonus Material: Contribution of Health to Growth in Government Spending
- 5.2 Health Component Grew the Fastest in Government Spending
- 5.3 US Health Share of Government Spending among G7 Counties
- 5.4 Public Sector Pays 80% Health Costs for People of Poor Health
- 5.5 Taxpayers Finance Almost Half of Health Spending for the Highest-Income Families
- 5.6 Medicare Beneficiaries Receive More Than They Pay
- 5.7 Medicaid Share of State Health Spending across States
6. Chapter 6: Health Services and the Family Budget
- 6.1 Health Care Is 2nd Largest Personal Consumption Component
- 6.2 Direct Family Health Care Spending Accounted for Only 5% Income
- 6.3 Health Care Payment Burden Grew Faster among Highest-Income Families
- 6.4 Elderly and Children Rely More Heavily on Tax-Financed Health Coverage
- 6.5 Young Adults Incur High Risk of Being Uninsured
- 6.6 American's Risk of Being Uninsured, 1940-2010
- 6.7 Majority of Health Costs for Uninsured People Are Subsidized
- 6.8 Elderly-Headed Households Spent Big and Increasing Share on Health
- 6.9 Non-Health Spending Per Person in Elderly Households Is Higher
7. Chapter 7: Who Produces Health Services?
- 7.1 Non-Profit Organizations or Public Owned Enterprises Provided Larger Share of Health Output
- 7.2 Government-Owned Firms Account for Low Share of Activity
- 7.3 Health Industry Has Produced Large and Growing Amount of Output
- 7.4 Health Services Output, 1929-2009
8. Chapter 8: Health Services and the Distribution of National Income
- 8.1 Share of Health-Related Supplement in National Income, 1948-2008
- 8.2 Wages and Salaries Account for Big and Growing Share of Income in Health Services
- 8.3 Share of Health-Related Income Accounted for by Proprietors' and Rental Has Fallen Steeply
- 8.4 Corporate Profits Have Reached Peak Share of Health Services Income
- 8.5 Pre-Tax Corp Profits in Health Sector Are the Least among Major Sectors in Private Businesses
- 8.6 Among Fortune 500, Health Services Companies Have Lower Profits
- 8.7 Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Are among Highest-Profit Industries
9. Chapter 9: Productivity in the Health Sector
- 9.1 Recent Increase in Health Services Productivity
- 9.2 Health Productivity Has Grown Less among Private Businesses
- 9.3 Health Sector Has Better-Educated Workers among Industries
- 9.4 Information Capital Stock in Health Services, 1987-2007
- 9.5 R&D Has Contributed to Increase in Health Sector Productivity
- 9.6 Increase in Health Spending Explained 80% of Decline in Personal Savings
- 9.7 Increase in Total Input Has Outpaced Output in Many Parts of Health Sector
10. Chapter 10: The Labor Force and Employment in the Health Sector
- 10.1 Employment Has Increased Faster in Health Services than in the Rest of Economy
- 10.2 US Share of Health Sector in Employment Is High among Industrialized Countries
- 10.3 The Opportunity Cost of Health Sector Employment in US and Other G7 Counties
- 10.4 Share of Female Employees in Health Sector
- 10.5 Health Service Employees Work for Less Hours than Employees in General
- 10.6 Increased Longevity and Shorter Working Life Have Lengthened the Period of Retirement for Males
11. Chapter 11: Personal Incomes and Health Care
- 11.1 Rising Health Costs Hindered Growth in American Workers' Earnings
- 11.2 Employee Compensation in Health Services Is Slightly Higher than All Workers Average
- 11.3 Employee Compensation in Ambulatory Health Sector Grew Slowly
- 11.4 US Health Professionals Are Paid Higher than Other Industrialized Countries
- 11.5 Rise in US Rates of Return for Medical Education
12. Chapter 12: Distribution of Health Services
- 12.1 1% of Population Accounts for 25% of Health Spending
- 12.2 The Lowest-Income Families Have 2.5 Times Burden of Paying for Health Care Than That of the Highest-Income Families
- 12.3 Burden of Paying for Health Care Has Increased
- 12.4 Per Capita Health Spending Increases with Age
- 12.5 Difference between Men and Women's Health Costs Depends on Age
- 12.6 Regional Differences in Health Spending per Capita Have Narrowed then Widened
- 12.7 Regional Differences in Health Spending Burden Have Narrowed then Increased
13. Chapter 13: Poverty and Health
- 13.1 Millions Are Categorized as Poor because Medical Expenditures Are Not Taken into Account
- 13.2 Government Insurance Covers Half of the Poor
- 13.3 Lower-Income People Have Worse Health
- 13.4 Poor Children Are Much Less Likely to Have Private Health Coverage than General Population
- 13.5 Medicaid Covers Less than 1/3 of Poor Non-Elderly Adults
14. Chapter 14: The Structure of the Health Sector
- 14.1 Less than Half of US Health Workers Are Employed by Large Firms
- 14.2 Concentration in Health Insurance Industry
- 14.3 US Health Sector Is Highly Regulated
- 14.4 Unionization Rates in the Health Industry
15. Chapter 15: Health, Wealth, and Debt
- 15.1 Health Spending per Capita Has Grown Twice as Fast as per Capita Net Worth
- 15.2 Low-Income US Family May Incur Health Spending that Exceeds Their Net Worth
- 15.3 "Medical" Bankruptcies Account for 25-35% of US Bankruptcies
16. Chapter 16: Economic Fluctuations and Health
- 16.1 Aggregate Health Spending Growth and Business Cycle Fluctuations
- 16.2 Medicaid Spending Tends to Be More Countercyclincal among Components of NHE
- 16.3 Unemployment Rates for Male Workers in the Health Sector Are Lower than the Rest of the Economy
17. Chapter 17: Health Services and Quality of Life
- 17.1 Average American's Stock of Health Is Several Multiples of Lifetime Earnings
- 17.2 How Price of Treatments Changes over Time Depends on How Innovations Are Measured
- 17.3 Technology Has Been An Important Driver of Health Spending
- 17.4 Whether Social Burden of Illness Has Increased or Decreased Depends on How It was Measured
18. Chapter 18: U.S. Health Care in a Global Economy
- 18.1 US Leads the World in Medical Innovation
- 18.2 US Accounts for More than Half of World Pharmaceutical R&D Spending
- 18.3 US Accounts for a Relatively Small Share of Pharmaceutical Exports
19. Chapter 19: Do Americans Get Good Value for Money in Health Care?
- 19.1 US Health Spending Appears to Provide Good Value for the Money
- 19.2 Geographic Differences in Broad Health Outcomes Are Associated with Health Spending
- 19.3 Medicare Spending & Spending Growth Vary Substantially across Geographical Areas
- 19.4 US Health Spending per Capita Is Not Far from Expected
- 19.5 Increased US Health Spending Cannot Be Explained by Health Services Use
- 19.6 US Relies Heavily on Specialists in Contrast to Primary Care Doctors
- 19.7 Americans Pay Higher Prices for Brand-Name Drugs among Major Industrialized Countries
- 19.8 Medical Malpractice Explains Some Difference in Health Spending between US and Competitors
- 19.9 US Leads the World in Life Expectancy
- 19.10 US Ranks 3rd in the World in Saving Premature Infants' Lives
- 19.11 US Cancer Patients Have Better Chances of Survival among Industrialized Nations
- 19.12 US Has More Avoidable Deaths Amenable to Health Care among Industrialized Nations
- 19.13 Most "Avoidable" Deaths Are Related to Lifestyle or Behavior
- 19.14 US Has World's Highest Obesity Rate but a Low Smoking Rate among Industrialized Nations
- 19.15 The Challenge of Comparing US States
20. Chapter 20: Are Health Spending Trends Sustainable?
- 20.1 Projected Growth in Health-Related Benefits
- 20.2 Technology Has Been a Key Driver of Health Spending Growth
- 20.3 How Much Faster per Capita Health Spending Has Increased Relative to GDP Growth
- 20.4 Projected Real GDP per Capita Will Decline within 30 Years Due to Growth in Health Spending
- 20.5 90% of Annual GDP Growth Would Be Devoted to Health Care by 2085 if 1% Excess Cost Growth Persisted
- 20.6 Long-Term Unfunded Liabilities Associated with Health Entitlements Exceed $66 Trillion
- 20.7 Projected 75-Yr Increase in Mandatory Federal Health Spending Exceeds the Largest Source of Tax Revenue
- 20.8 US Will Face Challenge of an Increasing Number of Dependents per Working Adult
- 20.9 Projected Increase in US Government-Related Health Spending and Its Effect

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Chapter 8: Health Services and the Distribution of National Income

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Inside Collection (Textbook): American Health Economy Illustrated

Textbook by: Christopher Conover. E-mail the author

8.7 Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Are among Highest-Profit Industries

Module by: Christopher Conover. E-mail the author

Summary: Pharmaceutical and medical devices have higher profits than do most industries, reflecting returns for discovery and innovation.

Pharmaceuticals and medical devices typically rank among the top 10 most profitable industries in America. This is true whether profits are measured as a return on revenue (figure 8.7a), return on assets (figure 8.7b), or return on equity (figure 8.7c). Occasionally, one of these two industries ranks first among all industries in some measures of profitability (figure 8.7b).

Pharmaceuticals and medical devices typically rank in the top 10 among all industries in their return on revenue.

Returns on assets for pharmaceuticals and medical devices place them among the top 10 industries in the United States.

Both pharmaceuticals and medical products have somewhat lower industry rankings on return on equity than other measures of profit.

Several reasons explain why these two health industries are so much more profitable than the various health-related services industries just examined. First, as shown previously, both industries consist entirely of for-profit firms, creating an arguably more competitive environment. Although there are mixed findings regarding performance of for-profit versus non-profit or government-owned enterprises, almost all comparisons agree that rates of return (however measured) are higher in for-profit firms relative to the not-for-profit counterparts.

Second, patents play a far more important role in pharmaceuticals and medical devices than in the rest of the health care sector. By design, patents are structured to encourage innovation by permitting their owners to earn monopoly returns for a limited time. Although the nominal patent term is 20 years, more than half of this time is typically lost before Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval due to the lengthy time required for clinical trials and regulatory review.

Third (and related), pharmaceutical R&D especially is a complex, costly, risky, and time-consuming process. Including the costs associated with hundreds of compounds that do not succeed, as well as the cost of capital (financial resources) that is unavailable for other uses during this lengthy process, more than $1 billion is spent to bring a single new drug to market. Absent the incentives provided by the patent system, there is no question that the amount of pharmaceutical R&D would be considerably less. Concomitantly, the number of new drugs discovered would be fewer. Thus, high profits represent the price paid for the benefits of new discoveries.

Whether profits are higher than needed to bring forth an optimal level of innovation is a perennial question. Several different analyses have concluded that the high level of pharmaceutical profits only slightly exceeds the industry's cost of capital. Briefly, investors demand higher profits to invest in an industry where returns on R&D are so risky.

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Fig. 8.7a created from Table 8.6a. Trends in Profitability: Return on Revenue Among Fortune 500 Firms for Selected Industries, 2005-2013 (last updated 6.21.14)
Fig. 8.7b created from Table 8.6b. Trends in Profitability: Return on Assets Among Fortune 500 Firms for Selected Industries, 2005-2013 (last updated 6.21.14)
Fig. 8.7c created from Table 8.6c. Trends in Profitability: Return on Equity Among Fortune 500 Firms for Selected Industries, 2005-2013 (last updated 6.21.14)

Download PowerPoint versions of both figures.

References

Fortune 500. Our Annual Ranking of America's Largest Corporations. http://fortune.com/fortune500/ (accessed June 21, 2014).

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Table of Contents

1. Chapter 1: Rise of a Massive Health Sector

2. Chapter 2: How Is Each Health Dollar Spent?

3. Chapter 3: Who Pays for Health Services?

4. Chapter 4: The Employer Rold in U.S. Health Care

5. Chapter 5: Government Health Expenditures, Taxes, and Deficits

6. Chapter 6: Health Services and the Family Budget

7. Chapter 7: Who Produces Health Services?

8. Chapter 8: Health Services and the Distribution of National Income

9. Chapter 9: Productivity in the Health Sector

10. Chapter 10: The Labor Force and Employment in the Health Sector

11. Chapter 11: Personal Incomes and Health Care

12. Chapter 12: Distribution of Health Services

13. Chapter 13: Poverty and Health

14. Chapter 14: The Structure of the Health Sector

15. Chapter 15: Health, Wealth, and Debt

16. Chapter 16: Economic Fluctuations and Health

17. Chapter 17: Health Services and Quality of Life

18. Chapter 18: U.S. Health Care in a Global Economy

19. Chapter 19: Do Americans Get Good Value for Money in Health Care?

20. Chapter 20: Are Health Spending Trends Sustainable?

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8.7 Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Are among Highest-Profit Industries

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