Columbia / HCA Spinoff Unlikely Amid Probe

Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. could boost the value of its operations by spinning off hospitals in non-urban areas, although it’s unlikely to do so before resolving a government probe, analysts said. The largest U.S. health-care company is considering spinning off a third of its 340 hospitals into a separate public company, many of them acquired with Healthtrust Inc. in 1995, according to the Wall Street Journal. Nashville-based Columbia had no comment. Meanwhile, former Columbia/HCA Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Scott and Chief Operating Officer David Vandewater are backing a health-care television channel they sought to buy while heading the hospital chain. Orlando, Fla.-based America’s Health Network channel said it is receiving unspecified financing from an investor group led by Scott and Vandewater, who resigned under pressure from Columbia in July as a government probe of the company widened.