Should You Own These 3 Healthcare Distributors?

For most people and most businesses, $215 million is a lot of money. AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), and McKesson (NYSE: MCK) will jointly pay that amount to two counties in Ohio rather than head to federal court in the first of many lawsuits over their roles in the opioid epidemic.  However, in the grand scheme of these businesses, $215 million represents a drop in the bucket for these successful healthcare distributors.

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First, what does a healthcare distributor do? AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson serve as the distribution network for approximately 90% of all prescription drugs in the U.S. All three also boast extensive global capabilities as exemplified by AmerisourceBergen's operations in 50 countries and Cardinal Health's roughly 18,500 employees outside of the U.S. Pharmaceutical companies sell their drugs to these big three which then store, resell, and deliver the medicines to pharmacies, hospitals, and other healthcare providers.

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Source Fool.com