Hospitals issue debt at the fastest pace since 2012

Nonprofit hospital bonds are being issued at the fastest pace since at least 2012 as earlier concerns over the Affordable Care Act's implementation have largely abated. As of Sept. 16, nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. have issued $18 billion of municipal bonds this year, already surpassing 2013's and 2014's annual totals, according to Bloomberg data. This year's pick-up in issuance reverses two years of pullback. As the Affordable Care Act — often dubbed Obamacare — began official implantation in 2013, wary hospitals put the brakes on capital investment until the future was more clear, said Mike Quinn, a managing director at Chicago-based B.C. Ziegler & Co.