Healthcare industry

Halifax Hospital Medical Center in Florida will pay $11.9 million on top of $85 million to settle claims made by the federal government and a whistleblower.

Six major Wisconsin health care systems are forming a partnership aimed at lowering costs and improving care.

A $70 million unpaid bill from El Paso Children's Hospital prompts layoffs at University Medical Center and a plea for a $20 million loan from the El Paso County Commissioners.

Tuomey Healthcare System in South Carolina does not plan to file for bankruptcy, at least not at this time, the hospital told bondholders July 31.

Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term rating to A from AA-minus on bonds issued for Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp., Tenn., citing losses.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings on Wake Forest Baptist and North Carolina Baptist Hospital bonds to A2 from A1.

Despite ongoing federal court battles over the fate of the nation's health insurance system, Utah's Intermountain Healthcare Services found a receptive muni market when it priced $158 million of tax-exempt bonds July 22, officials said.

Three consumer advocacy groups filed a lawsuit accusing Tennessee of implementing policies that deny health coverage to individuals eligible for TennCare.

Hospital bankruptcies are on pace to set a record in 2014 and investors should get more involved with restructuring efforts, a firm specializing the field says.

The Regents of the University of Minnesota will sell $141 million of general obligation bonds Thursday to finance construction of a new ambulatory care center.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the ratings on more than $1 billion of outstanding revenue bonds issued for Stanford Hospital & Clinics.

Providence Health & Services priced a deal to finance acquisition of a California hospital, an example of the consolidation trend in healthcare as hospitals grapple with financial pressures wrought by the federal healthcare law

Moody's Investors Service downgraded University Medical Center Corp.'s $330 million of debt to Baa2 and retained a negative outlook as a possible sale of the Tucson, Ariz. hospital develops.

Unpaid medical bills dropped 31% in the first four months of the year after Arizona expanded Medicaid coverage to the working poor, according to a survey by the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association.

Moody's Investors Service has revised Aurora Health Care Inc.'s outlook on its A3 rating to positive from stable in recognition of its improving performance.

States that have opted not to expand Medicaid under the new federal health care law could lose out on $66 billion in economic activity over the next three years and $88 billion in direct federal aid through 2016, the White House Council of Economic Advisors says in new report.

Moody's Investors Service placed a negative outlook on Sutter Health’s revenue bonds, based on the system's poor operating performance and significant capital needs.

Standard & Poor's has downgraded Good Shepherd Health System to a junk-bond rating of BB-plus as the East Texas healthcare provider tries to stave off an accelerated debt payment schedule.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the Detroit-area provider Henry Ford Health System one notch to A3, due to a deteriorating operating performance and struggles tied to implementation of a new electronic medical records system.

Moody's downgraded the ratings of King's Daughters Medical Center, Ky., to A3 from A2, with a continued negative outlook, partly because of a $41 million Department of Justice settlement.