It has been a tough 10 years for corporate America, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the nation's biggest healthcare firms. Examine the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and you'll find, on average, those companies will end the decade with slightly lower profits. But the healthcare companies in the index have been anything but the norm. Data compiled by MarketWatch show that the 52 healthcare companies in the index are about to close out the decade with average profits that nearly tripled. That level of money-making seems unlikely to change soon, even if lawmakers pass the legislation that's working its way through Congress. Experts say there aren't many reform proposals that would take a significant bite out of healthcare profits.
