Healthcare industry

On Wednesday the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority is expected to sell $313 million of triple-A rated sales tax secured bonds and the Nassau County Local Economic Assistance Corporation is scheduled to sell $132 million of revenue bonds.

Moody’s Investors Service Monday downgraded to A2 from A1 $79 million of debt issued by Northeast Ohio Medical University, and placed the rating under review for further possible downgrade.

Highmark has sued West Penn Allegheny Health for calling off their $475 million merger, calling the action a contract breach and "a flight from reality."

The IRS has closed an audit without changing the tax-exempt status of $31.23 million of health center revenue bonds that were issued by the Lebanon County Health Facilities Authority in 2005 on behalf of the Pleasant View Retirement Community Project.

Fitch Ratings upgraded to BBB-plus from BBB almost $1 billion of debt issued on behalf of Barnabas Health in New Jersey.

Cook County, Ill. officials hope that the Medicaid expansion provision in the Affordable Care Act will help reduce chronic deficits in its large public hospital system.

Holy Cross Hospital and Sinai Health System, both in Illinois, announced the signing of a letter of intent to merge in September.

Sequestration would mean $11.1 billion of Medicare cuts starting in 2013, a 2% reduction that would mean more headaches for many non-profit hospitals, especially lower-rated issuers, Fitch Ratings said in a commentary.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts has updated its disclosure best-practices paper for issuers of hospital debt in response to market changes spurred by the financial crisis.

The University of Colorado Hospital Authority will issue $290 million of bonds this week to add Memorial Health System of Colorado Springs to its new statewide network in a deal nearly sidelined by a lawsuit over pension programs.

The Illinois Finance Authority advanced more than $345 million in new-money and refunding issues for healthcare, higher education, and cultural institutions.

More than a third of Massachusetts hospitals lost money in fiscal 2011, according to a state report that comes as providers brace for a cost-containment law.

The State Iowa Board of Regents will take competitive bids Wednesday on $190 million of bonds that will more than double its healthcare system's debt load as it raises financing for a new children's hospital.

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Allina Health System's rating by one notch to Aa3 in recognition of its favorable fiscal performance.

Moody's Investors Service raised its rating by one notch to A1 on CentraCare Health System's debt due to the Minnesota-based system's strong financial performance.

Standard & Poor's dropped its rating two notches to B-plus from BB on revenue bonds issued for the Oconee Regional Medical Center in Georgia.

St. Louis-based Ascension Health Alliance is advancing plans to acquire Oklahoma-based Marian Health System, the parent of three regional not-for-profit healthcare organizations in the mid and central states.

The merger of HealthPartners Inc. with Park Nicollet Health Services won't have an immediate impact on the ratings of either system, Standard & Poor's said in a report.

Massachusetts' new health care cost-containment law could pressure the credit quality of providers by compressing margins, according to Standard & Poor's.

The University of Michigan Health System last week announced it has signed an agreement to acquire a piece of MidMichigan Health, a nonprofit system that serves a 14-county region in the center of the state.