Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "Baa2" rating on Mountain Home, Ark.-based Baxter Regional Medical Center's revenue bonds, affecting $47 million of rated debt.
The affirmation is a result of several factors, including the medical center's sole community provider designation from CMS, strong market position and somewhat improved operating performance and liquidity metrics in 2016 and thus far in 2017, although these numbers remain weaker than in the past. Moody's also acknowledged BRMC's small size and unfavorable payer mix.
The outlook is negative, reflecting Moody's expectation that the medical center will have suppressed operating and relative liquidity measures over the near term.