Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its long-term and underlying ratings to "A-" from "A" on Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives' debt.
The outlook is negative.
"The downgrade and negative outlook for CHI reflect persistent and large operating losses, which have resulted in what we consider weak maximum annual debt service coverage," said S&P credit analyst Martin Arrick. "Furthermore, there was a meaningful drop in unrestricted cash and investments as of Dec. 31, 2015, to levels that are only adequate for the revised rating as they are well below comparable medians."