DALLAS (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 23, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on Trinity Health, Mich. (Trinity; AA/Stable), and Catholic Health East, Pa. (CHE; A/Stable), are unaffected by the organizations' announcement of a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) to come together into a unified national health system. The boards and sponsors of both organizations have approved the Oct. 17-dated LOI, which would, if realized, result in one of the nation's largest health care providers: 82 hospitals in 21 states, with 87,000 employees and more than $13.3 billion in revenue. Trinity and CHE report that they will conduct due diligence on the potential consolidation, with a goal of reaching a definitive agreement in spring 2013. At this
