Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 5, 1993 TAG: 9310050064
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Carolyn Click
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
"We're extremely pleased at the merger announcement and the prospect of becoming part of the nation's largest health-care corporation," said Karl Miller, president of the Salem hospital. "The added purchasing power of this corporation will serve to increase our efficiency."
But no one associated with the $10 billion merger is ready to predict what kind of impact the consolidation will have on the price patients will pay.
Together, the two companies buy about $1.7 billion worth of hospital goods annually, said David McFadden, HCA spokesman. The companies anticipate yearly savings of $130 million, starting with $75 million in 1994.
The new Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. will operate 190 hospitals in 26 states and two foreign countries, with a total of 42,000 beds.
McFadden predicted the merger would position the nine acute care and psychiatric HCA hospitals in Virginia to take advantage of the move toward managed care as outlined by the Clinton administration. Columbia operates just one hospital in Virginia, the Clinch Valley Medical Center.
McFadden said the debate taking place on Capitol Hill "was one of the motivating factors" behind the merger.
The proposal surprised some Wall Street analysts; Columbia last month completed a merger with Galen Health Care Inc., a hospital chain owned by Humana Inc.
by CNB