Slide Presentation from the AHRQ 2007 Annual Conference

Background: Payment Policy Changes for Small Rural Hospitals

• The BBA legislation also created a new hospital category-Critical Access Hospital-which can receive cost-based inpatient and outpatient payments from Medicare.
• The "distance requirements" for qualifying: hospitals had to be at least 15 miles by secondary road and 35 miles by primary road from the next nearest hospital, or be declared a "necessary provider" by the State.