10 Biggest Hospital Companies in the World

Published on June 6, 2022 at 12:53 pm by Habib Ur Rehman in Lists, News

In this article, we take a look at the 10 biggest hospital companies in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of the healthcare industry and go directly to 5 Biggest Hospital Companies in the World.

The healthcare sector is growing faster than the overall global economy, with healthcare making 10% of the global GDP according to WHO. Empirically speaking, there’s a two-way positive correlation between healthcare spending and economic growth as well, with healthcare spending having a positive impact on labor productivity, personal spending and GDP and economic growth causing an increase in spending on healthcare.

Hospital and Healthcare Industry: An Analysis

The hospital market has been growing at an unprecedented rate. The size of hospital industry was $820 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to reach the $2 trillion figure by 2028 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.5% according to a report published by Facts and Factors. The report highlights aging population, rise in chronic diseases, improved reimbursement policies, advances in medical science and technology as the key drivers of growth in the hospital industry but also stresses that high service charges and operational costs at private hospitals is a limiting factor in the industry’s growth. The report acknowledged the role Covid-19 pandemic could play in widening the increase in hospital market size.

The recent pandemic showed just how important a role hospitals play in the times of emergency, especially when lives are at stake. The role of hospitals as primary care centers was put to the test during the peak Covid-19 waves in 2020. Approximately 4.6 million people were hospitalized in the US due to Covid-19 according to American Hospital Association report of 2022. Hospitals with proper and surplus equipment as well as well-trained staff played a significant role in flattening the curve around the world while many people lost their lives wherever there was shortage of hospital staff or equipment.

However, it is also noteworthy that hospital industry was under significant financial stress in the short term during the height of the pandemic. The hospitals’ management had to form strategies to increase ICU capacity by re-purposing hospital beds and reassigning nurses and clinicians to staff Covid-19 emergency wings either voluntarily or due to government mandates, leading to a decline in treating non-critical medical problems.

This was coupled with expenses related to unbudgeted procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect staff, overtime-pay for front-line caregivers as well as procurement of surplus drugs and ventilators to care for the desperately ill constantly coming in. By the end of 2021, drug and ICU expenses incurred by hospitals were 28% and 31% higher than pre-pandemic levels respectively according to the American Hospital Association report.

All of the capital spending and laying-off of non-essential staff and hiring of additional essential staff among other measures led to a dramatic decline in profitability. As a result, hospitals had to suffer significant revenue loss and had to cut expenditures in other areas of medical service. The American Hospital Association report highlighted that 33% hospitals were operating on negative margins due to pandemic stress.

However, with the vaccination drive in full swing, hospitals are set to recover to normal operations and hospital companies could soon see significant inflow of investment. In fact, the larger healthcare industry is already performing significantly better than the past couple of years. Its intraday returns on May 13 were at 1.05%.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) and HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) were some of the prominent names that were in the spotlight in the US in the wake of the pandemic. The last two of these are hospital companies that are included in the list of 10 biggest hospital companies in the world.

With that said, let’s discuss 10 of the biggest hospital companies in the world.

Our Methodology

For this list of 10 biggest hospital companies in the world, we’d be using different metrics that are publicly available like the company’s total assets, net annual income, number of employees and number of branches preferably but not strictly in the first quarter of 2022. However, the net annual income is of course from the year 2021. While all these variables are somewhat mutually dependent, we’d be using total assets as the ranking factor on the list.

Let’s move down to the list of 10 biggest hospital companies in the world.

10. IHH Healthcare Berhad (SES:Q0F.SI)

Total Assets: $10 billion (2021)

IHH Healthcare Berhad (SES:Q0F.SI) is one of Asia’s biggest healthcare groups. It operates and provides healthcare facilities like clinics, hospitals and acute medical services across the world in Asia and Europe. The types of services it provides include primary care like routine check-ups and vaccinations. The secondary and tertiary care include diagnostics, local surgeries and acute treatment.

The company also provides quaternary care services including organ transplants, neurosurgery, plastic surgery and cardiac surgery etc. Its complementary ancillary services include physiotherapy, therapeutic radiology and molecular diagnostics.

IHH Healthcare Berhad (SES:QOF.SI) is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and employs over 65,000 people, providing services in its 80 hospitals in ten countries with over 15,000 licensed beds. IHH Healthcare Berhad (SES:Q0F.SI) has an annual net income of $360 million.

9. Sonic Healthcare Limited (OTC:SKHHY)

Total Assets: $12.12 billion (2020)

Sonic Healthcare Limited (OTC:SKHHY) is an Australian company that provides diagnostics services in radiology and pathology among other lab services. It operates in Europe, Oceania and North America and employs 37,000 people worldwide. It’s also known for general practice medicine and corporate medical services.

When it comes to profitability, Sonic Healthcare Limited (OTC:SKHHY) had a net annual income of $900 million in 2021. The company has diversified and expanded farther outside Australia due to limited opportunity within the country.

Sonic Healthcare Limited (OTC:SKHHY) is not quite as big as Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) and HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) as far as total assets go but it is still one of the 10 biggest hospital companies in the world.

8. Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC.AX)

Total Assets: $12.43 billion (2020)

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC.AX) is an Australian multinational company and hospital network providing healthcare services across Australia, Europe and Asia. Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC.AX) provides specialized services in surgery, rehab and psychiatric treatment. Its UK branches also offer weight-loss surgeries, cosmetic surgeries and hip & knee replacement surgeries. While Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC.AX) ranks fifth in the UK, it is the largest healthcare corporation in France, Sweden and Australia.

Ramsay Health Care acquired Elysium Healthcare in December, 2021 which is exclusively focused on mental and neurological health care and provides mental health as well as neurological services in specialized hospitals and community homes across the United Kingdom. The company’s team includes qualified psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists and neurosurgeons for the treatment of wide ranging mental and neurological illnesses.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC.AX) was founded by Paul Ramsay in Sydney, Australia. It has 77,000 employees worldwide and operates 235 hospitals, rehabilitation centers, treatment facilities and psychiatric units. Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC.AX) generates an annual net income of $311 million.

7. Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Total Assets: $13.14 billion (Q1, 2022)

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) is a hospital management company based in Pennsylvania, US. Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) owns and operates across the world through 28 primary care hospitals, 335 behavioral health inpatient units, 40 outpatient units and ambulatory centers in 39 US states, the UK and Puerto Rico and employs 89,000 people. Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) generates a net annual income of almost $1 billion.

6. DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)

Total Assets: 17.08 billion USD (Q1, 2022)

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) specializes in kidney dialysis and provides its services through a network of 2816 outpatient dialysis centers in the US, serving over 200,000 patients. Outside the US, it operates 321 dialysis centers in 10 countries and serves over 3,000 patients. DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) employs 69,000 people worldwide

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) has a 37% share in the US dialysis market and generated an annual net income of $162 million in 2021. The company saw a dramatic decline in net profit in 2021 when its net income for 2020 was at $903 million. The company treats End-Stage Renal Disease which requires patients to receive dialysis treatment 3 times a week for the rest of their lives unless they’re lucky enough to receive a donor kidney. DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) ranks at 271 on Fortune 500 companies.

The company has several high profile acquisitions to its name. It acquired Healthcare Partners for $4.42 billion in 2012. In 2014, DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) acquired Colorado Springs Health Partners with 600 employees and 110,000 patients.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) is a big healthcare corporation though not comparable in size to Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) and HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) but it commands comparable popularity.

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