Big Hospital Profits Clash with Worker Wage Demands

HCA Healthcare, America's largest for-profit hospital chain, made $6.8 billion in 2025 profits and plans to spend $10 billion buying back its own stock, which tends to raise share prices. The CEO earned $26.5 million — 420 times the typical worker's $62,955. Now 22,000 union workers are picketing at over a dozen HCA hospitals across four states, seeking $25 an hour.