Judging by its nearly invisible public presence, you’d ne'er recognize that this can be clock time for HCA, the nation’s largest hospital chain. A former HCA regional VP, Marilyn Tavenner, runs the nation’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. Former CMS Head and Obama White House health policy chief metropolis Ann DeParle, sits on the HCA Board. Its old capitalist relations chief, Vic mythologist, is immediate past Chair of the extremely effective trade cluster, the Federation of yank Hospitals. And its Chief medical man, Jonathan Perlin, MD, is Chair Elect of the yankee Hospital Association. This astonishing trade leadership presence are some things most health systems would be trumpeting, even perhaps putting ads in trendy tending. however not HCA, the bashful big of yank tending. Most hospital systems build a show of “branding” their hospitals with the corporate emblem. nonetheless in its company home, Nashville, and therefore the close multi-state region, HCA’s fifteen hospital network is named TriStar. everybody in Nashville’s tight knit tending community is aware of United Nations agency owns their hospitals, however you have got to scan TriStar’s home page closely to search out the elliptical acknowledgement of HCA’s possession. Despite a nationwide merger and acquisition boom, HCA hasn’t done a serious deal in twelve years (Health geographic area in Kansas town joined HCA in 2002). the corporate has not participated within the post-reform feeding fury, continued a long-standing and admirable tradition of refusing to pay for assets. For the instant, owning one hundred sixty hospitals is masses.