Instead of Bringing Down Costs for Consumers, Senate Republicans Gave Health Care CEOs a Raise
Health care costs remain one of voters’ top issues – but instead of bringing down costs for consumers, Senate Republicans’ reckless 2017 tax bill slashed taxes for the health care sector, prompting record stock buybacks. Now, wealthy health care CEOs are reaping the benefits, while hardworking families get left behind. Thanks to the GOP’s tax giveaway to corporate special interests, a new report from Axios shows that in 2018, health care CEOs took home a staggering $2.6 billion.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Axios: Health care CEOs took home $2.6 billion in 2018
Bob Herman
May 16, 2019
Key Points:
- The chief executives of 177 health care companies collectively made $2.6 billion in 2018 — roughly $700 million more than what the National Institutes of Health spent researching Alzheimer’s disease last year, according to a new Axios analysis of financial filings.
- Why it matters: The pay packages reveal the health care system’s real incentives: finding ways to boost revenue and stock value by raising prices, filling more hospital beds, and selling more drugs and devices.
- Between the lines: A vast majority of CEO pay comes from exercised and vested shares of stock. Salaries are almost an afterthought.
- Quality of care is either not a factor at all in CEOs’ bonuses, or a marginal one.
Read the full article here.
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