The Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) NYSE: HCA is the largest private operator of health care facilities in the world. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States and is widely considered to be the single largest factor in making that city a hotspot for healthcare enterprise.

The founders included two members of the Frist family, which became very wealthy as a result. The current majority leader of the U.S. Senate, Bill Frist is a member of the family and has a substantial stake in the company. Most of his $20 million (or more) personal fortune was made through his holdings in HCA. Jack O. Bovender, Jr., is the Chief Executive Officer of HCA. He is a graduate of Duke University.

In the late-1990s, after a merger with Columbia Hospital Corporation, the company was investigated by the government for Medicare and Medicaid fraud and paid a settlement of $1.7 billion, the largest fraud settlement in US history. The CEO resigned but no criminal prosecutions resulted.

Curiously, HCA has abandoned the use of its name in its home market and instead promotes its Nashville hospitals under the TriStar brand.

On June 13, 2005, Senator Frist reportedly instructed the trustee managing his HCA shares to sell all of his stock. The sale took place in July, two weeks before disappointing earnings sent the stock on a 15-point plunge.