...BOSTON (Standard & Poor's) Dec. 3, 2015--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said that its ratings on HCA Inc., including its '##' corporate credit rating and 'B+' issue-level rating on the company's senior unsecured debt, are not affected by HCA's plan to issue a $500 million add-on to the 5.875% senior unsecured notes due 2026 that were issued in November. The recovery rating on this debt remains '6', indicating our expectation for negligible (0% to 10%) recovery for bondholders in the event of a payment default. Our '##' corporate credit rating on HCA reflects our view that its scale relative to other health care services peers should allow the company to better offset declining reimbursement rates with cost reduction efforts, and that its scale and market presence should aid in contract negotiations with commercial payors. In addition, HCA's business is diversified beyond inpatient hospital services, with about 38% of revenues coming from outpatient procedures. These factors only...
