Economy

BRADENTON, Fla. — With President Obama’s signature barely dry on the massive health care reform bill, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury Department and the Department of Labor, alleging that the bill is unconstitutional.

The Senate has approved a Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill that would establish a pilot program giving six airports the ability to set their own passenger facilities charges, which currently are capped at $4.50 and are used to back bonds.

Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook to negative from stable on Lake Region Healthcare Corp.’s A-minus rating due to strain on its balance sheet. Bonds for the provider were sold in 2002 through the Fergus Falls Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

The start date of a long-planned commuter line between Ann Arbor and Detroit has been postponed due to lack of funding.

Fitch Ratings placed the Detroit Medical Center’s revenue bonds on positive watch and affirmed its BB rating Monday after a for-profit health care system announced it was interested in taking over the state’s largest charity care hospital.

Standard & Poor’s late last week said Provena Hospitals’ BBB-plus rating would not be affected by the Illinois Supreme Court decision upholding a ruling that cost Provena Covenant Medical Center its property tax exemption because it failed to provide sufficient charity care.

The Illinois Senate last week approved a bill that would establish the Illinois and Midwest High Speed Rail Commission to oversee initial planning for high-speed rail service. The legislation is expected to be approved by the House and signed by Gov. Pat Quinn.

WASHINGTON — Another extension of federal transportation programs beyond the end of this year is highly possible, a congressional aide and transportation industry sources said at a conference here yesterday.

Pennsylvania-based ACTS Retirement-Life Communities Inc., the largest nonprofit continuing care retirement community provider in the U.S., will affiliate with two smaller East Coast senior-living centers, a move that may boost debt-service coverage for one.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority goes to market today with a smaller revenue anticipation note deal than last year, reflecting lower revenue than original expected from a bailout package.

Toll-road bond investors can stop panicking over high gasoline prices.

Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson joined with two of his Republican predecessors last week to urge Kansas legislators to provide more money for transportation programs.

CHICAGO — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said he was “elated” by Friday’s announcement that a for-profit health care system is interested in buying the Detroit Medical Center — Michigan’s largest charity-care provider — and infusing $800 million into the center’s Detroit campus.

DALLAS — Amid growing pains in an economic downturn, Austin is considering a second convention hotel while laying the groundwork for a $100 million transportation bond issue.

Moody’s Investors Service last week revised Temple University’s outlook to negative from stable as fiscal challenges at Temple University Health System may affect the school’s balance sheet.

The Nassau County Bridge Authority plans to market $10.9 million of tax-exempt bonds to retail investors on Wednesday to rehabilitate a draw bridge on Long Island. Institutional pricing is expected to follow on Thursday.

CHICAGO — Nonprofit health care providers continue to grapple with fallout from the collapse of the auction-rate market, and the sector now faces up to $31.5 billion of bank-credit-supported debt that needs to be renewed by 2013, according to a new report by BMO Capital Markets.

WASHINGTON — There are 10,000 transportation infrastructure projects under way in all 50 states and the District of Columbia with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Vice President Joe Biden announced yesterday.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Supreme Court yesterday upheld an appellate court decision supporting the state’s decision to strip Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana of its property tax exemption because it failed to provide sufficient charity care in a case that has garnered national attention.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Department of Airports plans to sell $898 million of revenue bonds next week to finance the rebuilding of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.