Competition watchdog to force HCA to sell London hospitals

By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Healthcare group HCA International must sell one or more of its hospitals in London, Britain's competition regulator said on Wednesday, after finding it had too strong a grip on the market for both self-pay and insured patients. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was clear HCA's market power in central London allowed it to charge higher prices to insurers. The company, part of U.S.-based HCA Holdings Inc, owned more than half of the available overnight bed capacity, it said. In a related move, the CMA stopped short of making rival healthcare provider BMI, Britain's largest operator, sell any of its centres, despite previously saying many private hospitals faced too little competition in local areas across Britain.



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