Four of the 10 largest corporations in the U.S. are healthcare businesses, according to the .
Dozens of healthcare corporations made this year's Fortune 500 list, which ranks the largest companies in the U.S. based on 2021 revenues. Four of those companies -- including CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen -- ranked in the top 10 largest corporations overall.
The revenue threshold for this year's list was $6.4 billion, up 19% from the previous year. Companies ranked on this year's list make up two-thirds of the total U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), at approximately $16.1 trillion in revenues.
"Several pandemic winners make their debuts this year," Alyson Shontell, Fortune magazine editor-in-chief, wrote in a foreword to the list. COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna, for example, ranked for the first time this year, clocking in at number 195.
"The real winners will be the companies that not only thrived under the freakish circumstances of COVID, but can flourish once the world opens back up," Shontell wrote.
Healthcare is a lucrative industry, with many U.S. billionaires making their fortunes in health and medicine. Here are the top companies in several health sectors that made the 2022 Fortune 500 list.
Insurance and Managed Care
Insurance and managed care companies make up some of the largest corporations in healthcare. UnitedHealth Group, for example, landed in the fifth highest spot on the Fortune 500 list this year. The company employs 350,000 people and saw a nearly 12% increase in revenue between 2020 and 2021.
The top five insurance and managed care corporations:
- UnitedHealth Group (#5): $287,597 million
- Elevance Health (#20): $138,639 million
- Centene (#26): $125,982 million
- Humana (#40): $83,064 million
- Molina Healthcare (#125): $27,771 million
Medical Facilities
HCA Healthcare was the largest hospital system on the list, earning 14% more in revenues in 2021 than it did in 2020, and solidifying it's spot as the richest health system in the country. Thomas Frist Jr., who founded HCA with his father in 1968, ranked number 73 on the 2022 list of billionaires.
The top five medical facilities:
- HCA Healthcare (#62): $58,752 million
- Tenet Healthcare (#181): $19,485 million
- Universal Health Services (#297): $12,642.1 million
- Community Health Systems (#304): $12,368 million
- DaVita (#323): $11,618.8 million
Pharmacy and Other Services
CVS Health earned more than $292 million in revenue, nearly a 9% increase from its earnings last year. CVS Health is also the highest-ranked company ever to be, CEO and President Karen S. Lynch.
The top five healthcare companies:
- CVS Health (#4): $292,111 million
- Cigna (#12): $174,078 million
- Laboratory Corp. of America (#230): $16,120.9 million
- IQVIA Holdings (#269): $13,874 million
- Quest Diagnostics (#342): $10,788 million
Pharmaceutical Companies
Drug manufacturers earned big this year, with the top five companies ranking in the top 100 of Fortune 500 companies overall. Moderna ranked at number 195, earning more than $18.4 million in revenues in 2021. Gilead Sciences, Eli Lilly, and Amgen also landed on the list.
The top five pharmaceutical companies:
- Johnson & Johnson (#37): $93,775 million
- Pfizer (#43): $81, 288 million
- AbbVie (#63): $56,197 million
- Merck (#71): $51,216 million
- Bristol Myers Squibb (#82): $46,385 million
Healthcare Wholesalers
Wholesalers in healthcare also shot to the top of the list, with two healthcare wholesalers earning spots in the top 10 largest companies overall. McKesson employs around 67,500 people, and earned 3% more in revenue during 2021 than in 2020.
The top five healthcare wholesalers:
- McKesson (#9): $238,228 million
- AmerisourceBergen (#10): $213,988.8 million
- Cardinal Health (#15): $162,467 million
- Henry Schein (#299): $12,401 million
- Owens & Minor (#361): $9,785.3 million