Moody's Investors Service assigned its "Baa2" rating to Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center's proposed $266 million series 2017 revenue bonds, issued by the Washington Health Care Facilities Authority.
Additionally, Moody's affirmed the "Baa2" rating on Virginia Mason Medical Center's parity debt, affecting $312M of revenue bonds.
The affirmation and assignment are a result of several factors, including the medical center's strong market position, wide variety of services and unique value proposition. Moody's also acknowledged VMMC's historically variable margins, heavy debt burden and expired HMO contract with Group Health Cooperative.
The outlook is stable, reflecting Moody's expectation that the medical center will see continued improvements in balance sheet metrics and operating performance.