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Southwest Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowships

News

Last 50 News Postings

(Most recent listed first. Click on title to be directed to the manuscript.)

CMS Proposes Increased Reimbursement for Hospitals but a Decrease for
   Physicians in 2025
California Bill Would Tighten Oversight on Private Equity Hospital Purchases
Private Equity-Backed Steward Healthcare Files for Bankruptcy
Former US Surgeon General Criticizing $5,000 Emergency Room Bill
Nurses Launch Billboard Campaign Against Renewal of Desert Regional
   Medical Center Lease
$1 Billion Donation Eliminates Tuition at Albert Einstein Medical School
Kern County Hospital Authority Accused of Overpaying for Executive
   Services
SWJPCCS Associate Editor has Essay on Reining in Air Pollution Published
   in NY Times
Amazon Launches New Messaged-Based Virtual Healthcare Service
Hospitals Say They Lose Money on Medicare Patients but Make Millions
   Trust in Science Now Deeply Polarized
SWJPCC Associate Editor Featured in Albuquerque Journal
   Poisoning by Hand Sanitizers
Healthcare Layoffs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Practice Fusion Admits to Opioid Kickback Scheme
Arizona Medical Schools Offer Free Tuition for Primary Care Commitment
Determining if Drug Price Increases are Justified
Court Overturns CMS' Site-Neutral Payment Policy
Pulmonary Disease Linked to Vaping
CEO Compensation-One Reason Healthcare Costs So Much
Doctor or Money Shortage in California?
FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Resigns
Physicians Generate an Average $2.4 Million a Year Per Hospital
Drug Prices Continue to Rise
New Center for Physician Rights
CMS Decreases Clinic Visit Payments to Hospital-Employed Physicians
   and Expands Decreases in Drug Payments 340B Cuts
Big Pharma Gives Millions to Congress
Gilbert Hospital and Florence Hospital at Anthem Closed
CMS’ Star Ratings Miscalculated
VA Announces Aggressive New Approach to Produce Rapid Improvements
   in VA Medical Centers
Healthcare Payments Under the Budget Deal: Mostly Good News
   for Physicians
Hospitals Plan to Start Their Own Generic Drug Company
Flu Season and Trehalose
MedPAC Votes to Scrap MIPS
CMS Announces New Payment Model
Varenicline (Chantix®) Associated with Increased Cardiovascular Events
Tax Cuts Could Threaten Physicians
Trump Nominates Former Pharmaceutical Executive as HHS Secretary
Arizona Averages Over 25 Opioid Overdoses Per Day
Maryvale Hospital to Close
California Enacts Drug Pricing Transparency Bill
Senate Health Bill Lacks 50 Votes Needed to Proceed
Medi-Cal Blamed for Poor Care in Lawsuit
Senate Republican Leadership Releases Revised ACA Repeal and Replace Bill
Mortality Rate Will Likely Increase Under Senate Healthcare Bill
University of Arizona-Phoenix Receives Full Accreditation
Limited Choice of Obamacare Insurers in Some Parts of the Southwest
Gottlieb, the FDA and Dumbing Down Medicine
Salary Surveys Report Declines in Pulmonologist, Allergist and Nurse
   Incomes
CDC Releases Ventilator-Associated Events Criteria

 

 

For complete news listings click here.

The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep periodically publishes news articles relevant to  pulmonary, critical care or sleep medicine which are not covered by major medical journals.

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Entries in UAHN (1)

Thursday
Oct222015

Banner Plans to Issue New Bonds to Cover University of Arizona Medical Center Purchase

Modern Healthcare is reporting that Banner Health is issuing new bonds this week to refinance older debt (1). Banner financed the $1 billion purchase of the University of Arizona Health Network (UAHN) including the University of Arizona Medical Center with a $700 million short-term loan from investment bank Mizuho in February. Banner is issuing $100 million in tax-exempt, fixed rate Series 2015A bonds. It is also planning to take on an additional $500 million in taxable and tax-exempt debt that will be used to replace the short-term loans associated with the purchase.

Banner is focusing on how to improve the return on its UAHN investment, which has dragged down its earnings. UAHN's financial performance has deteriorated with an operating margin declining to -4.3% in fiscal 2014, down from -1.2% the previous fiscal year. Before that, UAHN was profitable, according to Banner Chief Financial Officer Dennis Dahlen. Banner reported an operating surplus of $107.6 million on $3.4 billion in revenue for the first half of this year (2). In the prior-year period, its operating surplus was $186 million on $2.7 billion in revenue.

In an attempt to increase profitability, Banner has implemented a leadership incentive plan at UAHN and labor productivity tools. The executive compensation firm Sullivan Cotter has also been hired to design a new physician practice compensation structure. Dahlen noted that Banner believes that it will stabilize UAHN's finances by the end of next year, with profitability returning in 2017.

With the purchase of UAHN and the much smaller 44-bed Payson Regional Medical Center in July, Banner now reaches 82% of Arizona residents and is by far Arizona's largest health care system. Banner also plans to expand UAHN's health plans statewide to capture additional market share. The impact the debt from Banner's drive for market share will have on health care prices and Banner employees is unclear.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor

Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care

References

  1. Kutscher B. Banner prepares to issue new debt amid UAHN turnaround efforts. Modern Healthcare. October 20, 2015. Available at: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20151020/NEWS/151019914?utm_source=modernhealthcare&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20151020-NEWS-151019914&utm_campaign=am (accessed 10/21/15).
  2. Kutscher B. Banner aims to cut costs from UAHN as earnings lag. Modern Healthcare. August 25, 2015. Available at: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150825/NEWS/150829923 (accessed 10/21/15).

Cite as: Robbins RA. Banner plans to issue new bonds to cover university of Arizona medical center purchase. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2015;11(4):191. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc136-15 PDF