Mortgage finance option

Mortgage financing outlook improves for some hospitals - Policy Watch - hospitals may have another capital financing option - Brief Article

Some hospitals may soon have another capital financing option, according to legislation currently pending in the Senate. In states without a certificate-of-need process, the Hospital Mortgage Insurance Act of 2003 (HR 659), would allow the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish the means for determining need for and feasibility of a hospital. The bill passed the House of Representatives in March on a vote of 419 to 0.

This positive news comes on the heels of HUD's mid-May announcement that for the first time funding has been committed to support the rebuilding of rural critical access hospitals. That funding comes from the Federal Housing Administration Section Hospital Insurance program, which has historically been associated with large urban hospitals.

Read HR 659 at thomas.loc.gov and search on bill number HR 659. Read the HUD announcement at www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content= pr03-063.cfm.