Enrollment for rural emergency hospitals
Rural emergency hospitals (REHs) are a new Medicare provider type established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 added section 1861(kkk) to the Social Security Act to establish REHs as a new Medicare provider type to address the growing concern over closures of rural hospitals.
A facility is eligible to convert to an REH if it was a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) or rural hospital with not more than 50 beds as of December 27, 2020. REHs must provide emergency services and observation care but are prohibited by law from providing inpatient services.
The CMS-1772-F final rule established the requirements REHs must meet to bill Medicare including the following:
- A CAH or rural hospital wishing to convert to an REH must submit a Medicare enrollment application for institutional providers (CMS-855A) change of information application, rather than an initial application
- REHs are classified in the limited screening category
Additionally, CMS recently released guidance for REH, outlining requirements on delivery of care, the conversion process for eligible facilities, survey guidelines, and the Conditions of Participation that facilities must meet to participate in the Medicare program.
For information on how to complete the Medicare enrollment application for institutional providers (CMS-855A) review the CMS IOM Pub. 100-08 Program Integrity Manual, Chapter 10, section 10.2.1.81.
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