St. Louis-based SSM Health had an "AA-" rating affirmed on a series of bonds it holds as the 23-hospital system dipped in operating income in fiscal 2022 after "several years of consistently solid performance," according to a March 24 report from Fitch Ratings.
The outlook for the system is stable as it budgets for an operations loss with a commitment to at least break even in fiscal 2024, Fitch said.
Like many health systems, SSM faced typical industry headwinds such as increased labor costs and longer average length of stay for patients during fiscal 2022, the ratings report stated.
Its diverse geographical and service footprint as well as management initiatives to improve efficiencies and costs are helping offset some of those headwinds.
SSM Health, which had approximately $2.6 billion of total debt outstanding at the end of fiscal 2022, reported an operating loss of $248.9 million after its expenses increased 7.6 percent over the previous year.