The anticipated margin dilution from LifePoint Health Inc. ’s recent acquisition of eight hospitals from Scion Health--coupled with looming legislative risks in 2027 and 2028 --could impede the company’s ability to generate strong free cash flow in 2027. We expect adjusted leverage of about 7.5x for 2026 and 2027, with discretionary cash flow (DCF) to debt improving only modestly to 1% in 2027 from a deficit in 2026. We revised our outlook on LifePoint to negative from stable and affirmed all of the ratings, including our'B'issuer credit rating. The negative outlook reflects our increased doubt regarding Lifepoint's ability to achieve both the margin expansion and cash flow anticipated in our previous assessment. While volume growth remains good, significant
