With the addition of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the storied stock-market gauge now looks a lot more like the health care heavy U.S. economy.
The giant drugstore chain joins UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer by number of members, and drugmakers Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson in the 30-company Dow average. Health care accounts for almost a fifth of U.S. economic output.
Walgreens is the biggest drugstore chain by U.S. retail pharmacy sales. Placing the company in the Dow alongside big drugmakers and a sprawling health insurance conglomerate that also employs thousands of doctors gives a fuller picture of how Americans spend on getting and staying well.
At the same time, though, there is upheaval throughout the health care industry.
