Big Pharma has made really Big Bucks! The numbers

The world’s top 11 drug makers made more than $711 billion in net profits over the last decade, according to a study from Health Care for America Now, or HCAN, a group promoting the health-care overhaul effort and self-described protector of Medicare and Medicaid.

HCAN’s report indicates that profits have jumped roughly 62% in the last 10 years, from a collective $51.8 billion in 2003 to $83.9 billion in 2012. It says the 2006 boost in drug co-payments via the Medicare Part D program catapulted profits by nearly 34% in a single year.