HCA Healthcare

What HCA Healthcare does

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: HCA) is the largest for-profit hospital operator in the United States, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1960 and publicly traded since 1969, the company operates 189 hospitals and approximately 2,600 ambulatory sites of care spanning 19 U.S. states and the United Kingdom, supported by roughly 320,000 colleagues and serving approximately 47 million patient encounters annually. Its care delivery is organized around a network model anchored by the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network (130,000+ new cancer patients annually, 1,600+ transplants and cellular therapies), Surgery Ventures (~150 jointly owned surgery centers with 3,400+ physician partners), Hospital Based Services covering emergency medicine, hospital medicine, anesthesia, and pathology, and a graduate medical education program with 5,758+ residents and fellows across 365 ACGME-accredited programs.

HCA generates revenue primarily through fee-for-service and value-based reimbursement for inpatient admissions (~2 million annually), ER visits (~10 million), outpatient procedures, ambulatory surgeries, cancer care, and ancillary services, with pricing facility-specific and tied to patient insurance benefits. Its proprietary technology stack includes the SPOT sepsis-prediction algorithm (2019 Eisenberg Award), NATE real-time analytics, the Expanse EHR platform, virtual nursing, MyHealthONE patient portal, and a growing suite of AI tools — notably Nurse Handoff AI (Gemini-powered, 80% safety-event reduction), Commure ambient clinical documentation (81% adoption), and RapidAI Lumina 3D imaging — built on strategic partnerships with Google Cloud, OpenAI, GE Healthcare, and Commure.

The company layers its operating footprint with a workforce development flywheel via majority-owned Galen College of Nursing (25 campuses) and the pending acquisition of The College of Health Care Professions (10 campuses, 8,000+ students), plus a 54-site HCA Healthcare Research Institute running 523 active studies. Recent capital actions — a $3.25B senior notes offering in October 2025 and a $3.0B offering in May 2026 — alongside ~$260M in Q1 2026 outpatient M&A and announced Q1 2026 workforce reductions frame a growth strategy focused on outpatient density (14 to 20 sites per hospital), agentic AI deployment, and disciplined cost management against a $75.6B 2025 revenue base.

Name

HCA Healthcare

Legal name

HCA Healthcare, Inc.

Website

https://hcahealthcare.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

HCA Healthcare is the largest for-profit hospital operator in the U.S., running 189 hospitals and ~2,600 ambulatory sites across 19 states and the UK, serving 47 million patient encounters annually with integrated acute care, oncology, surgery, and AI-enabled clinical operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Acute Care Hospital Services

NAICS

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (6221), General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (622110), General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (62211), Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (622310), Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (6223), Offices of Physicians (62111)

SIC

Services-General Medical & Surgical Hospitals, Nec (8062), Services-Hospitals (8060), Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Oncology & Cancer Specialty Hospitals (HLAFAHAC)

Keywords

• Acute care hospital services
• Ambulatory surgical centers
• Cancer care networks
• Graduate medical education
• Hospital based services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hospital and Acute Care Services: HCA Healthcare generates the majority of its revenue from patient care services delivered at its network of 190 hospitals across 19 U.S. states and the United Kingdom, including emergency room visits, surgical procedures, inpatient care, and outpatient services.
2. Outpatient and Ambulatory Services: Revenue from approximately 2,500 ambulatory sites of care including surgery centers, endoscopy centers, urgent care facilities, and freestanding emergency rooms.
3. Cancer Care Services: Revenue from Sarah Cannon Cancer Network delivering cancer treatment including 130,000+ new cancer patients annually, 1,600+ transplants and cellular therapies, and 900+ daily radiation treatments.
4. Graduate Medical Education: Revenue from sponsoring graduate medical education programs with over 5,758 residents and fellows.
5. Healthcare Education Services: Revenue from Galen College of Nursing (expanded from 5 to 25 campuses) and The College of Health Care Professions serving 8,000+ students annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HCA Healthcare operates a network of 189 hospitals and approximately 2,600 ambulatory sites of care across 19 U.S. states and the United Kingdom, delivering acute care, emergency, surgical, cancer, cardiac, behavioral health, and maternal and neonatal services. The company also operates Surgery Ventures outpatient surgery centers, the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network, the HCA Healthcare Research Institute for clinical research, and the Galen College of Nursing. Through Hospital Based Services, HCA delivers integrated clinical and operational support across emergency medicine, hospital medicine, pathology, anesthesia, intensivist, and laboratory services across its affiliated hospitals.

Product overview

HCA Healthcare operates as a comprehensive healthcare delivery system offering a portfolio of hospital and outpatient services, technology-enabled clinical tools, and workforce development programs. The core offering is a network of 189 hospitals and approximately 2,600 ambulatory sites of care, supported by integrated Hospital Based Services (emergency medicine, hospital medicine, pathology, anesthesia, intensivist, and laboratory), Surgery Ventures (150+ surgery centers), and the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network. Technology products include SPOT sepsis prediction, NATE analytics platform, Expanse EHR, Virtual Nursing, and Nurse Handoff AI. Workforce solutions include Galen College of Nursing (25 campuses) and HCA Inspire colleague platform. Research capabilities are provided through the HCA Healthcare Research Institute with 54 sites. Patient-facing tools include MyHealthONE portal and informER text service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sarah Cannon: Cancer care network offering innovative medical treatments, clinical trials, transplant and cellular therapy, and radiation oncology services across the United States and United Kingdom
• HCA Inspire
• Surgery Ventures
• SPOT (Sepsis Prediction and Optimization of Therapy)

Products and services

• HCA Healthcare Hospital and Ambulatory Network

Quantifiable outcome

• 33-minute median door-to-needle time for stroke patients, outperforming national benchmarks
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability12 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OpenAIcoreTechnology or Integration · 29 June 2026Strategic partnership with OpenAI to develop agentic AI for care orchestration. HCA Healthcare is one of eight major health system customers announced for new clinician-focused ChatGPT tools and consumer health app. CEO Sam Altman is personally leading sales calls to hospitals. The partnership represents a major push into healthcare AI by OpenAI, which reported $13 billion in 2025 revenue.
• The College of Health Care Professions (CHCP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2026Agreement to acquire The College of Health Care Professions, one of the largest allied healthcare training providers in Texas serving 8,000+ students annually across 10 campuses. Builds on existing partnership including 2023 Medical Assistant training program with over 100 graduates.
• Google (DeepMind/MedLM)coreTechnology or Integration · 5 May 2026HCA Healthcare is deploying Google's MedLM healthcare AI through partnerships with Google. Google is deploying MedLM through partnerships with hospitals including HCA Healthcare, Manipal Hospitals in India, and Roche, while real-world trials continue with Included Health.
• PalantircoreTechnology or Integration · 13 April 2026Partnership with Palantir for Timpani scheduling software (also known as HCA Inspire) used for automated nursing staff scheduling. Palantir executive claimed the company's software managed 21% of U.S. hospital beds by August 2024. National Nurses United protested the partnership at the 2026 Frist Gala.
• Health KarmaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2025Collaboration for National Comp 2025 conference presentation on preventing workplace violence in healthcare settings, combining over 60 years of combined experience in behavioral health, workplace safety, threat assessment, and law enforcement.
• American Heart AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Strategic partnership with American Heart Association during Stroke Awareness Month to strengthen stroke prevention and treatment programs. Since 2022, hospitals participating in the Getting to the Heart of Stroke initiative have improved identification of cause of stroke by 33%. Supported by HCA Healthcare Foundation.
• US Oncology ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Sarah Cannon Research Institute formed joint venture with US Oncology Research in 2022 to enhance clinical trial access and availability. Combined research network brings together physicians actively accruing patients to clinical trials at more than 250 locations in 24 states.
• Galen College of NursingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020HCA Healthcare became majority owner of Galen College of Nursing in 2020, expanding from 5 to 25 campuses providing hands-on training and continued education for nursing students. Creates direct talent pipeline for nursing workforce.
• GE HealthcarecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with GE Healthcare for AI initiatives covering sepsis detection, ambient documentation, and maternal-fetal health monitoring. HCA Healthcare's Digital Transformation and Innovation department collaborates with GE Healthcare to develop and deploy AI technologies across the hospital network.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationMulti-year partnership with Google Cloud to create a secure and dynamic data analytics platform for HCA Healthcare and enable development of next-generation operational models focused on actionable insights and improved workflows. Google's Gemini model powers the AI nurse handoff tool.
• March of DimesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with March of Dimes supported by a $1.5 million grant to promote low-dose aspirin use to reduce preeclampsia risk by up to 25% and improve postpartum follow-up care awareness.
• Ondine BiomedicalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for LANTERN Phase III clinical trial studying Steriwave photodisinfection technology at 18 hospitals with 5,200 patients. HCA Healthcare is conducting the pivotal study with a pre-NDA FDA meeting expected in fall 2026 ahead of potential U.S. market entry.
• CommurecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Commure for ambient clinical documentation achieving 81% adoption rates. Ambient documentation uses ambient speech recognition (ASR) technology and natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to alleviate documentation burdens for physicians.
• GuruFocusminorOthersGuruFocus provides valuation analysis and financial research on HCA Healthcare, including DCF analysis, GF Value modeling, and GF Score assessments.
• McKessonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoe DePinto, head of cell, gene, and advanced therapies at McKesson, facilitated a panel at Asembia's AXS26 Summit that brought together stakeholders from HCA, Geisinger, and a risk-management firm to discuss reimbursement complexities for cell and gene therapies.

Scale indicators31 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tenet Healthcare: One of the largest U.S. for-profit hospital operators running acute care hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (USPI). Direct competitor to HCA in same geographic markets with overlapping business in hospital ownership and outpatient expansion, particularly USPI's ASC footprint competing against Surgery Ventures.
• Universal Health Services: Major U.S. for-profit hospital operator with ~400+ acute care and behavioral health hospitals. Comparable to HCA in for-profit acute care delivery model and geographic expansion strategy, with overlapping service lines in emergency medicine and behavioral health.
• Community Health Systems: U.S. for-profit hospital operator with a portfolio of ~70+ community hospitals. Directly comparable to HCA in the for-profit community hospital operating model, though smaller in scale.

Broad incumbents

• Ascension Health: One of the largest U.S. non-profit Catholic health systems operating ~140 hospitals across multiple states. Comparable to HCA in scale and geographic diversity of acute care delivery, though differing in non-profit/mission-driven ownership model.
• CommonSpirit Health: One of the largest U.S. non-profit health systems formed by the Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives merger, operating ~140+ hospitals. Comparable to HCA in providing comprehensive acute and outpatient services across multiple states.
• AdventHealth: Large non-profit U.S. health system operating 50+ hospitals concentrated in the Southeast, directly overlapping HCA's geography in Florida and other Southern states. Comparable in integrated care delivery across hospital and ambulatory settings.
• Trinity Health: Large U.S. Catholic non-profit health system operating ~90 hospitals across multiple states. Comparable to HCA in scale of multi-state acute care delivery, integrated clinical services, and graduate medical education programs.
• Cleveland Clinic: Highly-ranked U.S. non-profit academic health system operating multiple hospitals in Ohio, Florida, and Nevada, with overlapping geographic markets with HCA in Florida and Nevada. Comparable in scale of clinical research and tertiary/quaternary specialty services, especially oncology through its Taussig Cancer Institute.

Others

• McKesson Corporation: Major pharmaceutical and medical supply distributor partnered with HCA on cell, gene, and advanced therapy reimbursement discussions. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler to hospital operations, particularly in pharmaceutical services that intersect with Sarah Cannon's cellular therapy program.
• Kaiser Permanente: Integrated payer-provider system operating ~40+ hospitals and extensive medical offices, comparable to HCA as a comprehensive care delivery organization. New SVP Marketing hire Cynthia Cifuentes-Finkel previously spent 15 years in senior roles at Kaiser, making it an industry reference point for HCA's talent and operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/hcahealthcare
• Facebookfacebook.com/HCACare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hca
• Instagraminstagram.com/hcahealthcare
• Xx.com/hcahealthcare

Compliance15 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A15 records

Investments15 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HCA Healthcare