Credit ratings news and information

Not-for-profit healthcare systems continued to struggle with underfunded pension liabilities last year, and the situation has become even more challenging since 2011.
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A Moody's Investors Service report shows that five out of the six not-for-profit hospitals that saw their credit ratings fall in the first quarter were facilities with under $500 million in revenue.
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Like their investor-owned counterparts, not-for-profit hospitals are expected to weather the impact of sequestration, but that doesn't mean the belt-tightening will be easy.
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Hospitals in states that elect not to expand their Medicaid programs could find their bottom lines squeezed in coming years as they're hit with higher charity-care costs and fewer insured patients.
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Fitch Ratings knocked West Penn Allegheny Health System's credit rating to C and said analysts believe “negotiated debt restructuring appears to be inevitable to forestall insolvency.” The C rating is the lowest Fitch rating that does not indicate a default. West Penn Allegheny, the...
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Not-for-profit hospitals on the whole will see a slight dip in credit ratings this year before ratings stabilize, according to Standard & Poor's annual outlook for the sector.
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Moody's Investors Service lowered West Penn Allegheny Health System's credit rating by three notches to Ca, or “highly speculative,” from Caa1.
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Fitch Ratings lowered its already low rating for West Penn Allegheny Health System to CCC from B+, a multi-notch drop, as the chance of debt restricting grows and an acquisition by Highmark looks less certain.
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One major credit rating agency upgraded more not-for-profit hospitals and systems than it downgraded between July and September, and deals—mergers, acquisitions and leases—were behind better credit in several cases.
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Municipal bonds sold by hospitals and healthcare providers are rallying the most since 2009, defying a potential $11 billion drop in Medicare funding from federal budget cuts that loom in three months.
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