Huron Regional Medical Center, South Dakota; Hospital

S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'A-' issuer credit rating (ICR) on Huron Regional Medical Center (Huron), S.D. The outlook is stable. We assessed the enterprise profile as adequate, reflecting Huron's limited service area population, rural economy, and small medical staff, even as we also recognize that the executive team has done a very solid job of managing the facility within these constraints. We assessed the financial profile as very strong, highlighted by significant unrestricted reserves, virtually no debt, stable cash flow, and benefits from cost-based Medicare reimbursement. We think these combined credit factors lead to an indicative rating level of 'a-' and a final rating of 'A-'. In April 2016, Huron made the final payment on its 1994 bonds. It

...S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'A-' issuer credit rating (ICR) on Huron Regional Medical Center (Huron), S.D. The outlook is stable. We assessed the enterprise profile as adequate, reflecting Huron's limited service area population, rural economy, and small medical staff, even as we also recognize that the executive team has done a very solid job of managing the facility within these constraints. We assessed the financial profile as very strong, highlighted by significant unrestricted reserves, virtually no debt, stable cash flow, and benefits from cost-based Medicare reimbursement. We think these combined credit factors lead to an indicative rating level of 'a-' and a final rating of 'A-'. In April 2016, Huron made the final payment on its 1994 bonds. It has a $300,000, 10-year, zero-interest U.S. Department of Agriculture loan with annual payments of $30,000 beginning in November 2017. We believe that Huron has additional debt capacity at this rating level to fund various capital needs....

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