Nashville, Tenn.-based health care service provider HCA Inc. continues to generate very strong free cash flow and build debt capacity despite ongoing industry volatility and slightly weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings. We are revising the rating outlook to positive from stable and affirming all of our ratings on HCA Inc., including our 'BB' corporate credit rating. At the same time, we are assigning our 'BB' corporate credit rating to parent HCA Healthcare Inc. The outlook is positive. The positive rating outlook reflects our view that HCA's resilience in a challenging operating environment combined with current leverage and free cash flow metrics result in credit quality that could be consistent with 'BB+' rating peers, while also reflecting the risk that financial policies could
