Healthcare industry

Moody's Investors Service affirmed its A1 underlying long-term rating on Queen Health System of Hawaii ahead of its plans to price $403 million in revenue bonds.

Raymond James has hired health care veteran Pete Lawson as a managing director to co-head hospital mergers and acquisitions in the firm's health care finance group. He is based in Naples, Fla.

Standard & Poor's has revised Illinois-based Carle Foundation's outlook to positive in recognition of its strong financial performance and improved balance sheet.

California's nonprofit Daughters of Charity Health System is bucking noisy union opposition in an effort to sell out to a for-profit operator that would retire its junk-rated tax-exempt bonds.

Fitch Ratings affirmed its AA-minus rating, and Standard & Poor's its A-plus rating, ahead of a bond sale planned by Cottage Health System in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The last remaining stand-alone non-profit hospital in southeast Michigan has signed a letter of intent to merge with the largest non profit health care system in the country.

Thirty-six Republican Arizona legislators should be allowed to challenge the constitutionality of a measure to expand Medicaid eligibility even though it won legislative approval, the state Supreme Court ruled.

Final federal regulations make clear that most failures to meet certain requirements created by the new health care law won't hurt the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals' bonds.

Beaumont Health, southeast Michigan's largest provider after a September merger with two local hospitals, is refunding $408 million of bonds in January for savings.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and upheld Milwaukee County's 2010 cuts to nurses' pension benefits.

Missouri hospitals reported providing $588 million in charity care and another $512 million in uncompensated care last year, the Missouri Hospital Association said in a report.

Revenues for Texas Health Resources' Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas are back on track after falling 25% during an Ebola scare that claimed a patient's life and infected two nurses, according to a disclosure announcement.

Revenue and demand pressure on not-for-profit healthcare providers as they navigate federal healthcare reform will weigh down the sector for another year, Standard & Poor's said.

Michigan-based Trinity Health is acquiring the Connecticut-based Saint Francis Care in a deal that allows Trinity to expand its Northeastern footprint and gives Saint Francis improved access to capital.

State Controller John Chiang issued a report warning of the growing unfunded retiree healthcare liability cost which has reached $71.8 billion.

Standard & Poor's on Dec. 12 downgraded El Paso County Hospital District's credit to A-plus from AA-minus, citing a weakened cash position.

Operating gains prompted Moody's Investors Service to revise Iowa's UnityPoint health system's outlook to stable from negative.

Standard & Poor's downgraded Colorado-based nonprofit healthcare giant Catholic Health Initiatives to A from A-plus and retained a negative outlook in a Dec. 15 report.

Macomb County, Mich., plans to bring $260 million of bonds to market in March to pay off its retiree health care liability.

The Illinois Finance Authority board signed off Rush University Medical Center $600 million refunding and issues that will help finance Chicago Navy Pier's big overhaul and finance construction of a compressed natural gas station for Pace suburban bus service.