Healthcare industry

The Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority yesterday signed off on Mercy Alliance’s $48 million bond sale scheduled for this week.

A $425 million plan to build a new convention center and medical merchandise mart in downtown Cleveland advanced last week as the Cuyahoga County Commission approved the purchase of the last piece of land needed for the complex.

The Denver Health and Hospital Authority will use $29 million of health care recovery zone revenue bonds to build a 78,500-square-foot pavilion for adolescent psychology, outpatient operating rooms, a procedure center, and parking.

Moody’s Investors Service raised the debt rating of Hawaii Pacific Health to A3 from Baa1, citing four years of improved operating performance and a greatly simplified debt structure.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday said they stand ready to take over the Jackson Health System should the current board overseeing South Florida’s largest public hospital fail to rectify the financial crisis it now faces.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum Friday amended the federal lawsuit he filed challenging the constitutionality of the new health care law to add seven new states, including Georgia and Mississippi, the National Federation of Independent Business, and two individuals.

CHICAGO — Provisions in the new federal health care law that aim to change the way hospitals are paid for their services could pose risks to nonprofit providers, Standard & Poor’s said in a report released yesterday.

House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, said Monday that Louisiana must exercise better control of state employee retirement systems that threaten funding for important services and programs.

Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook to stable from negative on the BBB-plus rated CGH Medical Center, citing improved operating performance. The debt was sold through the former Illinois Educational Facilities Authority.

CHICAGO — Chicago-based Ziegler Capital Markets Group last week announced the hiring of its first New York City-based health care banker, Mike Quinn, to lead its East Coast banking and advisory efforts with hospitals and health care systems.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority board advanced plans this week for more than $550 million in health care-related deals, including the Clare at Water Tower’s tender and exchange offer that is part of a debt restructuring aimed at giving the struggling retirement development more time to succeed.

Miami-Dade County commissioners Tuesday agreed to create an oversight board for the financially ailing Jackson Memorial health care system, which was overseen by an appointed board known as the Public Health Trust.

If the pending sale of two large nonprofit health care systems to for-profit entities proves a trend, it could be good news for bondholders of low-rated hospital debt, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report out this week.

DALLAS — On the heels of a Fitch Ratings downgrade, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System plans to issue more than $1 billion of revenue bonds this week for operations in three states.

States will likely face rising costs due to federal health care reform over the long term, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report released this week.

Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook to stable from negative on health care provider Wheaton Franciscan Services Inc.’s BBB-plus rating due to its improved operating results. The revision affects bonds issued through the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority in 2002, 2003, and 2006.

A deal that would give Detroit an $800 million boost advanced last week when the City Council approved a measure to create a tax-free zone at the Detroit Medical Center to pave the way for a for-profit health care group to take over the hospital.

Summa Health System, one of the largest health care providers in Ohio, is set to enter the market Tuesday with $175 million of new-money bonds.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into an $83.3 million bond deal that Miami-Dade County sold last year on behalf of the county’s financially ailing Public Health Trust.

Michigan would see a relatively minor impact on its fiscal position as a result of the new federal health care law, according to an analysis by the Legislature’s Senate Fiscal Agency.