Massachusetts General borrows $420 million for improvements; Detroit hospital penalty reveals new trend

Bloomberg: Boston Hospitals Seek $420 Million With Cost At 16-Month High
Partners HealthCare System Inc., which runs Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, is borrowing $420 million for improvements including electronic medical records and to refinance debt, with average tax-exempt yields at close to a 16-month high. Partners, a Boston-based nonprofit that has two hospitals affiliated with Harvard University, will complete the sale of about $270 million of fixed-rate securities today and is also offering $150 million of variable-rate debt this month, according to Debra Sloan, deputy treasurer. The tax-exempt securities are being sold through the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. ... Partners' bonds are rated AA by Standard & Poor's, the third-highest investment grade, according to a Dec. 16 report (McDonald, 1/6).

Detroit Free Press: DMC's $30-Million Fine Highlights A New Direction In Health Care, Experts Say
The Detroit Medical Center's $30-million penalty for giving special deals to doctors underscores a new direction in health care in which institutions increasingly fess up to wrongful practices to avoid getting clobbered later with harsher fines, legal experts on health care say (Anstett, 1/5).