In a Sept. 7 letter to state survey and certification agencies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued guidance on critical access hospital (CAH) relocation. The revised guidance, effective immediately, explains criteria to be used by Medicare’s regional offices to determine whether a CAH with a necessary provider designation remains essentially the same provider, serving the same service area after relocation, thereby qualifying the CAH to retain its necessary provider designation and Medicare provider agreement.
Regulations permit such CAHs to relocate, so long as the CAH remains essentially the same provider and continues to provide services to the same rural service area. The guidance notes that the relocation standards and the associated interpretative guidelines apply only to relocation of CAHs with a necessary provider designation; other CAHs seeking to relocate must comply with all criteria for CAH designation at the new location. Read the letter.
