About that 'double standard'….

The article reports that few hospitals have been making much of a fuss about what some call a double standard for issuers accessing the tax-exempt, municipal bond market versus the corporate bond market through which for-profit companies typically finance their debt. Municipal bond issuers of auction-rate debt frequently avail themselves of bond insurance to enhance their credit even further by bumping it up a notch or so, making their bonds marketable to a pool of investors, according to Steven Donovan of Hawkins Delafield & Wood.