Healthcare industry

Moody's Investors Service upgraded the bond rating of West Penn Allegheny Health System to Caa2 from Ca after Highmark closed on its $604 million takeover.

New York State legislators will meet Thursday with officials of SUNY Downstate Medical Center to discuss a sustainability plan for a Brooklyn hospital that had been slated to close.

A tax overhaul in Minnesota -- with infrastructure funding for the Mayo Clinic's plan to makeover its home city and a likely income tax increase to erase a deficit and generate more funding for schools -- is headed to a conference committee.

Highmark wasted no time taking over West Penn Allegheny Health System after regulators approved a $604 million deal that ended 18 months of turmoil and offered bondholders 87.5 cents on the dollar.

Arkansas will use federal Medicaid funds to purchase health insurance for an additional 250,000 low-income residents under a new pilot program.

A small health care district in Northern California, the Mendocino Coast Health Care District, is still slogging its way through Chapter 9 bankruptcy and hopes to exit this summer without impairing bondholders.

Moody's Investors Service issued a report on Wednesday that examined the local governments and school districts that rely on federal employment, procurement, Medicare reimbursement and education grants that would be most affected by sequestration.

Ratings agencies are awaiting details on the debt structure of the combined St. Luke's Episcopal Health System of Texas and Colorado-based Catholic Health Initiatives before issuing an opinion on the $2 billion deal.

New York City has issued an RFP for a new health care contract, with deputy mayor Cas Holloway calling labor contracts and benefit packages pressing challenges.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Olmsted Medical Center's rating by one notch, pushing it into the A category in recognition of its strong financial profile and increasing liquidity.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded to BB-plus from BBB-minus $30 million of revenue bonds issued for Beatrice Community Hospital.

El Paso County Hospital District will use proceeds from $152 million of certificates of obligation to build clinics and renovate a hospital in El Paso.

A Maine legislative study of ways to pay off the state's $484 million debt to Maine's hospitals shows that a bond sale would generate the most money.

Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald called Gov. Terry Branstad's alterative to the federal government's Medicaid expansion a bad deal for the state.

The California Health Facilities Financing Authority approved on Tuesday the sale of $1.9 billion of bonds to help Kaiser Foundation build six new hospitals, expand a current one, and construct a specialty medical office.

The Illinois Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a direct appeal of a Circuit Court decision leaving intact a state overhaul of retiree health care benefits.

Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and South Dakota-based Sanford Health have canceled discussions over a possible union due to mounting opposition in Minnesota.

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago plans to sell up to $450 million of new-money and refunding bonds as it finalizes financing plans for a $550 million replacement facility.

Indianapolis comes to market Tuesday with $42 million of lease revenue bonds that mark the final piece of a financing for a massive new $734 million public safety net hospital located in downtown Indianapolis.

Baylor Health Care System plans to issue bonds ahead of its merger with Scott & White Healthcare, and Moody's downgraded Baylor Health one notch.