Moody's Investors Service has assigned an "Aa3" rating to York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health's series 2014A revenue and refunding bonds issued by the General Authority of Southcentral Pennsylvania.
The rating assignment affects roughly $208 million of WellSpan's debt.
The rating assignment was supported by a number of factors, including WellSpan's healthy operating margins. Over the last several years, the system's operating margin has averaged 3.4 percent to 4.3 percent and operating cash-flow has ranged between 9 percent and 10.7 percent.
In addition, WellSpan boasts a leading market position in its service area, and has expanded its footprint with the recent addition of the Ephrata (Pa.) Community Hospital.
WellSpan also faces some challenges, which were considered for the rating assignment, such as an increasingly competitive marketplace and ongoing losses incurred by physicians.
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