Moody’s Investors affirms rating for Erlanger hospital
Moody’s Investors Services has affirmed the Baa2 rating for the Erlanger Health System and assigned the Chattanooga-based health system a positive outlook in its latest rating analysis.
Moody’s analysts said Erlanger’s financial assessment “reflects very strong revenue and market share growth across the past four years as the system has recruited new physicians and specialists, invested in new facilities and clinical programs and rebuilt its brand in the southeastern Tennessee market.” The latest ratings report also noted that Erlanger’s “positive outlook reflects our expectation of improved performance and liquidity growth during the last half of fiscal 2018” as many of the expenses of the $100 million installation of a new EPIC computer system end and the hospital revenues are projected to top $1 billion in the next year.
Erlanger CEO Kevin M. Spiegel said the positive outlook reported by Moody’s Investors Service is “further confirmation we have been able to continue to build a financially stable organization while reinvesting” in building or acquiring facilities in both Tennessee and North Carolina.
“Our strong financial results over the past four years have enabled Erlanger to invest tens of millions of dollars in fulfilling the need for long overdue, capital expenditures and a new state-of-the-art clinical informatics system under EPIC,” Spiegel said.
CVS, Aetna Inc. move forward with $69 billion merger
Shareholders of Aetna Inc. and CVS Health Corp. on Tuesday approved the Woonsocket, R.I., pharmacy giant’s $69 billion acquisition of the Hartford health insurer.
The deal, announced in December, must still be approved by regulators.
CVS stockholders voted to approve the shares of company stock to be issued in the deal, CVS said.
According to preliminary results, more than 98 percent of CVS shares that voted favored the proposal. If approved by regulators, the deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Aetna said about 97 percent of the votes cast and more than 77 percent of the 326.9 million shares entitled to vote agreed to the deal.
Aetna shareholders will receive $145 in cash and 0.8378 of a CVS Health share for each Aetna share, which was valued at $207.94 on Dec. 1, the Friday before the deal was announced.
“When this merger is complete, the combined company will be well-positioned to reshape the consumer health care experience, putting people at the center of health care delivery to ensure they have access to high-quality, more affordable care where they are, when they need it,” said Larry Merlo, chief executive officer of CVS.
U.S. may maintain Idaho waste plant
U.S. officials are considering extending the use of an eastern Idaho nuclear waste treatment facility beyond its scheduled closure this year so it can repackage radioactive waste brought in from other states before it’s sent to a permanent disposal site in New Mexico.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Plant at its 890-square-mile site that includes the Idaho National Laboratory was originally set to stop operating after it finished treating waste from Idaho this year. But the Energy Department said last week it may want the $500 million plant that employs about 600 workers to keep running to treat transuranic waste from other federal sites.
Transuranic waste includes items like protective gear and tools that have been contaminated with plutonium, americium or other radioactive elements.
Watchdog warns tariffs will slow global growth
As the U.S. prepares to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a world economic watchdog warned Tuesday that such barriers will hurt economic growth globally.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a policy adviser to developed economies, said that while the global economy is improving, “trade protectionism remains a key risk that would negatively affect confidence, investment and jobs.”
“Governments should avoid escalation,” it said in an update to its forecasts.
The statement was a veiled reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs without resorting to international arbitration.
The OECD expects world economic growth to accelerate to 3.9 percent this year and next, from 3.7 percent in 2017. It expects the U.S. to accelerate thanks to lower taxes, and sees a pickup also in several developing countries. By contrast, it predicts a gradual slowdown in the 19-country eurozone, Britain, China and Japan.