Moody's affirms Mercy Hospital's 'A3' rating

Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Iowa City, Iowa-based Mercy Hospital's "A3" rating assigned to $78.2 million of outstanding bonds.

The affirmation of the rating was based on a number of factors, including Mercy's good market position, improved financial performance and strong liquidity position.

Mercy's is located in an area of low unemployment and strong population growth. In addition, since the expansion of Medicaid in Iowa, Mercy's percentage of self-pay patients has dropped to 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2014, compared to 3.2 percent in 2013. 

The hospitals liquidity is strong, with 356 days cash on hand as of June 30. In addition, Mercy has more than four times maximum annual debt service coverage.

The hospital also faces some challenges, such as being vulnerable to physician departure and financial variability due to being a small hospital with $179 million in operating revenues.

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