The third quarter saw an increase in the pace of credit downgrades for health systems and hospitals as U.S. healthcare continues to struggle to find sustained recovery, S&P said Oct. 17.
There were 15 downgrade actions in the period, with nine of those coming in September, the ratings agency said. By contrast, there were two ratings upgrades in September, with three in the third quarter.
"Significant credit pressures remain, and we expect the recovery will be slow, with unfavorable outlooks and downgrades continuing to outpace favorable outlooks and upgrades," S&P said. "Rating stability hinges on a sustainable and steady pace of earnings recovery, continued balance-sheet strength, retaining some financial flexibility relative to rating level expectations, and other credit characteristics including enterprise strengths."
The data is similar to an Oct. 18 Fitch report suggesting sluggish recovery and continued downgrade trends.