Healthcare industry

Pharmaceutical maker Theragen Inc. defaulted on outstanding Series 2005 bonds last week as Bank of Oklahoma NA, the trustee for the debt, announced that the company did not meet principal and interest payments due Nov. 1.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday issued one-notch downgrades to bonds issued by Palomar Pomerado Health, a hospital district in San Diego County.

CHICAGO — Voters in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan were in the mood to say yes Tuesday, approving bond issues for a new hospital in Indianapolis, a capital improvement plan for Detroit Public Schools, and a measure allowing casinos to set up shop in Ohio’s four largest cities.

CHICAGO — Kansas City, Mo.-based Children’s Mercy Hospital enters the market beginning today with a retail order period on its $180.7 million of new-money and refunding revenue bonds that will introduce fixed-rate bonds to the well-known hospital’s debt portfolio.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced the state would cut 700 positions, Medicaid payments, and school transportation funds to trim $204 million from the $23.7 billion budget for fiscal 2010.

The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City will begin a retail order period tomorrow for $85 million of bonds secured by a Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage.

St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic has until Nov. 6 to file a reorganization plan after the health care provider filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early March.

CHICAGO — Minnesota’s largest not-for-profit health care provider, Allina Health System, enters the market next week with the first piece of its nearly $400 million new-money and refunding issue with a trifecta of upgrades in hand — a rarity for the hard-hit sector.

Woman’s Hospital of Baton Rouge hopes to sell bonds soon so it can proceed with a revised hospital replacement project that it deferred earlier this year due to a slack credit market.

CHICAGO — Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health Credit Group will enter the market today with $233 million of fixed-rate revenue bonds, followed by $102 million of variable-rate securities in two weeks to finance hospital projects in Indiana and Michigan.

A second Erickson Retirement Community facility outside of Chicago is in default on its 2007 tax-exempt bonds after the nonprofit associated with it failed to make principal and interest payments due on Aug. 1 and Sept. 1.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $61.3 million of auction-rate securities issued in 2005 by the Coastal Bend Health Facilities Development Corp. of Corpus Christi, Tex.

Fitch Ratings downgraded the Monroe Clinic Inc.’s rating one notch to A-minus due to its plans to added debt load that will come early month with the issuance of $65 million of fixed-rate bonds.

Standard & Poor’s last week withdrew its rating on North Philadelphia Health System’s 1997A bonds after downgrading the debt to CCC from AAA.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has determined that bonds issued by a university medical school to finance or refinance items used by a nonprofit hospital are considered obligations of a state governmental unit and therefore tax-exempt, the IRS said in a private-letter ruling released this week.

Erickson Retirement Communities, developer of 19 continuing-care retirement communities throughout the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.

Maple Grove, Minn., has disclosed that the Internal Revenue Service has initiated an audit of $53.8 million of bonds it issued in 2005 to finance renovations and construction to two health care facilities.

CHICAGO — The Indiana Finance Authority today is expected to price $225 million of new-money revenue bonds on behalf of Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc.

DALLAS — Houston-based St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System is preparing a $385 million revenue bond refunding deal through the Harris County Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corp.

CHICAGO — More than $1 billion of borrowing by health care facilities in Illinois is expected in the coming months in deals approved by the Illinois Finance Authority board amid improved market access for the sector.