Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Hargrove / The Economy Will Health Care Reform Spur HCA To Go Public?
Posted by Brantley Hargrove on Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 12:02 PM
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Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America --the country's largest hospital operator -- could be preparing for a public offering in anticipation of Washington's health care reform, an industry analyst tells Dow Jones.
The reduction of unpaid hospital bills and uninsured patients under a new system could pave the way for the an industry, and HCA, resurgence. In hospitals across the country, uninsured folks going to the ER -- where they can't be turned away -- have been receiving top-dollar care for problems that could be treated cheaply by a primary care physician. Bad debt runs amok and, here we are, spending more than any country in the world on health care and remaining pretty damned unhealthy in the process.
HCA announced an agreement with Veep Biden last week, along with other hospitals in this country, to help finance the overhaul of the health care system. Now experts are beginning to speculate on the powerhouse that could be -- once again -- a publicly traded HCA.
"There are no other hospital companies of that size," CRT Capital Group healthcare analyst Sheryl Skolnick told Dow Jones."HCA would likely be a very attractive IPO," as it is considered the best-managed hospital company.
Comments (2)
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HCA isn't planning to go public because of health reform. It's going public because the banks who financed the $21B LBO want to get their money back. They include Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, a unit of investment bank Merrill Lynch. KKR and Bain Capital are far more focused on the public markets than reform, ensuring they get the best price when their IPO hits the market.
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Posted by
Really guys?
on 07/15/2009 at 1:55 PM
