As of Sept. 16, nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. had issued $18 billion of municipal bonds this year. That number already surpasses the annual totals for the past two years, according to Bloomberg data.
Due to uncertainty surrounding the Affordable Care Act, bond issuance in the nonprofit hospital sector fell 40 percent to $16 billion in 2013, down from $27 billion the year prior. The fall continued in 2014 when issuance dropped to $15 billion.
The pick-up in bond issuance this year is largely attributable to refunding, as healthcare providers have been "eager to take out older more expensive debt with less expensive newer bonds," according to the Bloomberg report.
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