Healthcare industry

Fitch Ratings last week dropped the Citrus County Hospital Board, Fla.’s bonds, issued on behalf of Citrus Memorial Health Foundation Inc., to BB-minus from BB-plus. The downgrade affects $39.4 million of outstanding debt.

DALLAS — Top Louisiana officials said Monday that higher education and public health would be devastated by fiscal 2013 spending cuts mandated by a budget passed late last week by the House.

CHICAGO – Janesville, Wis.-based Mercy Alliance Inc. will issue $172 million of new-money and refunding bonds Wednesday in a deal that will shed floating-rate risk in the hospital's debt portfolio.

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to soon sign legislation shifting more of the funding burden for retiree health care to recipients, a move projected to save more than $250 million annually and shave billions off the state’s other post-employment benefits unfunded liability.

The Suffolk County, N.Y., Legislature on Tuesday voted to have employees pay for part of the cost of their health insurance for the first time in the Long Island county’s history.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday upgraded to B1 from B3 the rating on Southern California University of Health Science’s Series 1997 bonds and also revised the outlook to positive from negative on $7.5 million of outstanding bonds.

A federal bankruptcy court last week approved a deal allowing the Flint-based McLaren Health Care Corp. to buy Cheboygan Memorial Hospital, a troubled facility located in northern Michigan.

Moody’s Investors Service last week affirmed its A1 rating on the Parkview Health System and revised the outlook to stable from negative, noting the system’s improved operating performance.

DALLAS — Bearing a healthy prognosis from rating agencies, Children's Medical Center of Dallas will look for interest-rate savings with a $164.5 million refunding.

The University of Texas System Board of Regents last week said the system would contribute $25 million a year to operations of a medical school in Austin if locals provide $35 million a year.

CHICAGO — As the nonprofit health care world keenly awaits the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the new federal health care law, credit analysts warn that a ruling striking down the individual mandate while maintaining the rest of the law would deliver a blow to the already-suffering sector.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to A3 from A2 Kettering Health Network’s $408 million of outstanding bonds.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has notified the Cumberland County, Pa., Municipal Authority that $10 million of Series A revenue bonds it issued in February 2008 have been selected for examination.

SAN FRANCISCO — The board of the California Health Facilities Financing Authority has voted to reduce its issuance fees as it battles to remain competitive with other conduit issuers.

If passed, Rhode Island’s new legislation to allow acquisitions would be a credit positive for small community hospitals in the state, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the board of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York approved $320 million in financings for higher education and health care institutions.

At least eight Midwestern health care providers are set to enter the market over the next two weeks, offering more than $1.3 billion of bonds. Leading the pack this week is a trio that represents the region's largest and most prestigious providers.

CHICAGO — The Federal Trade Commission's success so far in challenging two high-profile hospital mergers could signal fresh pressure on the sector, which is in the midst of a transforming consolidation trend.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn unveiled a plan Thursday to trim $2 billion in Medicaid spending through cuts and other savings while raising $700 million in new revenue from a cigarette tax hike and federal matching funds in an attempt to ease the program's strain on state finances.

Fitch Ratings this week upgraded the Oregon Health and Science University to A-plus from A as the school prepares to come to market next week with $268 million of revenue bonds.