This is part 3 of a 3-part series on U.S. hospitals, capital markets, and the credit impact of the coronavirus. Watch the introductory video. Read part 1. Read part 2. As the U.S. emerges from the pandemic, things will never be the same for acute care hospitals. Some challenges were…

This is part 2 of a 3-part series on U.S. hospitals, capital markets, and the impact of the coronavirus. Watch the introductory video. Read part 1. In our view, the U.S. hospital industry’s response to COVID-19 has been exemplary. Early in the pandemic, many hospitals, often at the request of…

This is part 1 of a 3-part series on U.S. hospitals, capital markets, and the credit impact of the coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic lifted healthcare providers, including hospitals, nursing homes, and their front-line caregivers to a new and elevated status in the public consciousness. During the dark early days of…

Arizona charter schools that used the Paycheck Protection Program’s forgivable loan program bolstered their operations and cash on hand in fiscal 2020, according to data from the School Improvement Partnership (SIP) Database. Arizona charter schools that used the program were generally smaller than those that didn’t and had lower debt…

Maryland hospitals’ financial performance in 2020 was very comparable to the rest of the U.S., as compared with Moody’s Investors Service’s preliminary 2020 medians for nonprofit hospitals. Hospitals across the country, including in Maryland, faced significant operating headwinds resulting primarily from COVID-19, on top of pre-existing industry pressures. Maryland hospitals’…

As the charter school sector continues to grow and mature, municipal bond ratings from Wall Street’s big credit rating agencies including S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings are increasingly within reach. Charter schools are still unlikely to achieve the high ratings typical of bonds issued by essential public service…

U.S. acute care hospitals are facing the perfect storm of fiscal pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic: sharply lower revenues due to cancelling as many elective and non-emergency procedures and visits as possible to preserve capacity for a surge in COVID-19 cases; likelihood that reimbursement for COVID-19 cases won’t be…