Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health had its outlook revised to negative from stable amid expectations the eight-hospital system will continue to experience difficult operating conditions and concern it will continue to fail to meet debt obligations, Moody's said April 5.
The rating on its revenue bonds was affirmed at "A1." Total debt stands at $738 million.
Legacy Health said it was renegotiating its debt agreements and will suspend its debt service coverage ratio requirements until March 2024. In addition, it has added a covenant mandating it has at least 100 days of cash on hand starting this summer. That figure was 180.8 days as of Dec. 31, Legacy shared in an email to Becker's.
"An additional factor behind the negative outlook is our expectation that Legacy will fail its quarterly debt service coverage test on several bank agreements for the next couple of quarters," Moody's said. "We expect it to seek waivers or amendments, as it has done since September 2022."
Legacy's strong market share locally and its history of long-term revenue growth will stand the system in good stead as will management initiatives to mitigate inherent challenges, Moody's said. Significant improvement operationally is expected by the end of fiscal 2024.