Article: Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.'s Ratings Affirmed by S&P

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's today affirmed its ratings on Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. and affiliated companies following the announcement of a sizable fourth quarter loss (see list of ratings below). The company's performance is fully consistent with the scenario that Standard & Poor's anticipated when it lowered Columbia/HCA's ratings to the triple-'B' category from the single-'A' category in November 1997. Although the write- off was marginally larger than expected, write-offs are merely accounting conventions and do not necessarily reflect cash flow generation or, ultimately, the health of a company.

The investment-grade ratings ...

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