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Fitch: Vital Signs of Critical Access Hospitals in the U.S.; Teleconference Today at 2PM

Posted on: Thursday, 27 July 2006, 12:01 CDT

Fitch Ratings has today released a new report titled 'Vital Signs of Critical Access Hospitals.' According to Fitch, as many small rural community hospitals in the U.S. have struggled to cope with rising health care costs outpacing patient reimbursement, the critical access hospital (CAH) program has become their lifeline for financial stability.

Over the last seven years, the CAH program has witnessed rapid growth with about one in five of the nation's 6,000 hospitals having converted to CAH status. "The designation has benefited many small rural hospitals, providing enhanced Medicare reimbursement at 101% of cost," explained Tommy Chan, Associate Director, Fitch Ratings. "As a result, some CAH hospitals have been able to generate solid profitability, enabling them to invest in facility upgrades, new equipment, and additional staff."

Fitch believes the CAH designation enhances the ability of a small rural hospital to receive an investment grade rating. However, the designation alone does not necessarily result in an investment grade rating. While the CAH program has been vital to the financial stability of many rural providers, these hospitals remain inherently more vulnerable to industry pressures and adverse events as their small size magnifies any credit deficiencies, and absent substantial liquidity restrains financial flexibility.

To coincide with this release, Fitch will host a teleconference today at 2:00 p.m. to discuss the report in detail. Participants should call +1-877-241-2557 five minutes prior to the 2:00 p.m. EST start time and reference the title of the conference, 'Vital Signs of Critical Access Hospitals' or the call leader, 'Tommy Chan.' To ensure there are sufficient telephone lines available, use internal conferencing capabilities, if possible, for multiple listeners at a single location. If you would like to participate, e-mail pfconference.calls@fitchratings.com.

A replay of the teleconference will be available starting Thursday, July 27th at 5:00 p.m. EST until August 3rd at 11:59 p.m. EST. Participants interested in listening to the replay should dial +1-800-642-1687. To access the replay, participants will need the conference id number '3107231'.

Additionally, the teleconference will be archived on the Fitch Ratings web site. Interested parties can find the appropriate link at the 'Teleconferences and Online Events' link, which is located under the 'Resource Library' on www.fitchratings.com.

The full report, 'Vital Signs of Critical Access Hospitals,' can be found on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com under 'U.S. Public Finance' and 'Special Reports'.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.

Source: Business Wire

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