Healthcare Capital Finance
A major firm practice area is the representation of mortgage and investment bankers, municipal bond insurers and sponsors in connection with taxable and tax-exempt financing of healthcare facilities including hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The firm has also represented several state healthcare finance agencies throughout the nation, in states such as Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia.
Although its primary role in such matters has been as mortgagee counsel, Krooth & Altman has also acted as underwriter’s counsel and is familiar with tax exempt as well as taxable matters. The firm has represented national bond insurers in connection with their involvement in FHA healthcare and multifamily housing revenue bond issues.
Although K&A has been involved in Capital Hill matters since the early 1950’s, its most recent initiatives date to 1980 when the firm began representing the Healthcare Financing Study Group, a trade association of investment and mortgage bankers and private bond insurers, which monitors federal healthcare and related housing matters within FHA and on Capitol Hill. In 1994, K&A spearheaded a coalition of trade associations to assure the preservation of healthcare programs within FHA and the United States Congress. These efforts are believed to have been instrumental in calling the attention to the importance of FHA healthcare insurance programs and avoiding a serious threat of termination to the FHA housing insurance programs as well. The Coalition routinely meets with the FHA Commissioner to discuss industry concerns. Members of the firm are registered lobbyists.
The firm was also instrumental in developing the FHA “Debenture Lock” program that has been virtually the only source for FHA insured healthcare facilities to refinance high interest rate bonds in both the Section 242 and Section 232 programs. The program has since been used by FHA to refinance Section 8 FAF loans. K&A also represented a major bond insurer in the development of a program that permitted private municipal bond insurance to overlay FHA’s mortgage insurance structure to reduce interest rates on FHA financings. These programs have had substantial national application.