S&P Upgrades Saratoga Hospital

Standard & Poor's has raised its rating on the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency's bonds issued for Saratoga Hospital in New York to A-minus from BBB-plus.

The rating is applied to the agency's long-term rating on the Series 2007B, 2004, and 2003B bonds, and the underlying rating on the Series 2007A bonds.

The upgrade reflects an assessment of Saratoga Hospital's improved balance sheet over the past few years, in addition to what Standard & Poor's considers a solid and consistent operating income, generating good coverage and increasing outpatient volume.

The outlook is stable, based on the opinion that the hospital will likely continue to post strong operating results and a continuing improvement in liquidity due to solid cash flow.

"A negative rating action would be based on operational performance deterioration such that debt service coverage would decrease to less than 3 times or if days' cash on hand were to decrease to 140 days' or less," said analyst Margaret McNamara.

Issuance of additional debt beyond $20 million without commensurate liquidity growth could also contribute to a lower rating.

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Healthcare industry New York
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