Fitch Ratings has assigned an "AA-" rating to $127.3 million of series 2015A revenue bonds and $48.2 million of series 2015B revenue bonds issued on behalf of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Health System.
The rating assignment was supported by a number of factors, including the system's brand recognition for excellent tertiary and quaternary care and state-of-the-art clinical research. The system's manageable capital needs and solid liquidity also supported the rating assignment.
Fitch also considered the system's rating sensitivities for the rating assignment, including pending litigation against JHHS. The litigation is related to the system's alleged involvement in an unethical study conducted by the U.S. federal government in Guatemala in the 1940s. "The validity of the claim at this early stage is highly uncertain," Fitch noted. The rating agency said it would monitor the progress of the litigation and comment as necessary.
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