Healthcare industry

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.

Moody’s Investors Service last week revised the outlook on Loyola University of Chicago’s A3 credit to stable from negative because of strong operating performance and cash flow as well as operating improvement initiatives being undertaken by the university’s health system.

DALLAS — Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives expects to sell up to $1.2 billion of revenue bonds with a variety of structures in a multi-state deal tomorrow and Thursday.

LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making a push to expand its presence in the nation’s health care sector by ramping up its long-standing FHA mortgage insurance program for hospitals.

Las Vegas — Emerging slowly from the financial crisis, hard-hit nonprofit health care borrowers are gaining ground in market access and on credit spreads. However, they face tougher disclosure demands and must rethink strategies to lure investors going forward, especially given the looming uncertainties associated with national health care reform.

SAN FRANCISCO — The recent bankruptcies of two community hospitals in California show how difficult the current economic environment is for health care providers — and how much effort is required to actually bankrupt a hospital.

Standard & Poor’s yesterday dropped New Jersey’s largest health care provider, Saint Barnabas Health Care System to BB-plus from BBB-minus, affecting more than $800 million of outstanding debt. The outlook is negative.

CHICAGO — In a further reshuffling of Illinois’ finance team, debt manager Phil Culpepper will move over to the Illinois Housing Development Authority to the post of deputy executive director, while the Illinois Student Assistance Commission’s chief financial officer, John Sinsheimer, has stepped into the newly created position of state director of capital markets.

The Mount Sinai School of Medicine at New York University is going to market next week with $369.6 million of tax-exempt bonds. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York will offer the fixed-rate bonds to retail investors on Tuesday and to institutional investors on Wednesday.

The Senate Finance Committee yesterday voted 14 to 9 to approve its version of a health care reform package, which would place increased reporting requirements on bond-financed and other nonprofit 501(c)(3) hospitals.