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The Business of
Health Care Report
Recently, Moody's Investors Service upgraded the
debt rating on Texas Health Resources to A1 stable. For THR, this was positive confirmation of the
entire organization's hard work and focus to achieve aggressive business goals. But, debt-rating upgrades
for health care organizations have been the exception rather than the rule over the past several years. Moody's rates more than 500 non-profit hospitals and health
systems with more than $90 billion in total outstanding debt. According to the Healthcare Financial Management
Association, the 77 upgrades and downgrades in 2001 accounted for almost one-third of all rating actions in the
revenue-backed municipal bond sectors. Why are debt ratings so important to non-profit health care
providers and their patients? Look at the D/FW marketplace for example. Within the past six months, health care
providers have announced plans to build or renovate facilities at a value of more than $1 billion. The rapidly
growing population in North Texas has challenged health care providers to keep up with the demand for their services.
Couple this with a growing number of uninsured residents, decreased reimbursement from all payers including federal
and state governments, and the need to access additional capital dollars through the sale of bonds becomes apparent. Bond buyers closely follow the debt ratings issued by Moody's
and others. The better the debt rating for a health care organization, the more attractive its bonds are to
potential buyers. Moody's lists the top five reasons for debt rating upgrades as: Telling our story to the investment community may be new
for our industry, but it must be a part of our day-to-day business if we are to continue to appropriately serve
the health care needs of North Texans. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO Doug
Hawthorne with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio
1080 KRLD.
©
2002 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 