Tenet's Dicey Rehab

Updated from 7:24 a.m. EDT

Investors have finally stopped focusing on Tenet's (THC Quote) legal headaches and are realizing just how sick the hospital chain really is.

For years, investors have banked on a sweeping government settlement to cure the company's problems. But a week after inking a deal, with better terms than some anticipated, the company has seen its stock price fall to its lowest level since 1993. Back then, however, the company had been grappling with new scandals instead of resolving old ones. In other words, it could still take a number of remedial actions -- like settling lawsuits and promising reforms -- that, by now, it has already exhausted.

As a result, Tenet is under pressure to revive its weak operations for its stock price to recover. To some, the company's prognosis has rarely looked darker. ...