LV hospital operator buying back shares

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Thursday, March 2, 2000 | 10:58 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., the largest U.S. hospital operator, will buy back $1 billion of its stock as it tries to boost its share price, which has fallen 32 percent since January.

Columbia/HCA, which is negotiating to settle federal charges of defrauding Medicare, has repurchased $4 billion of its stock since April 1997, including a $1 billion program completed earlier this year.

Columbia/HCA shares have fallen as the Nashville-based company said its labor and drug costs increased in the fourth quarter.

Columbia is a big player in the Las Vegas hospital market with its Sunrise and MountainView hospitals and associated operations.