Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Mission
The mission of the Rural Hospital Flexibility Program is to
work closely with rural hospitals to strengthen rural health
infrastructure. A major goal is to increase effectiveness
and efficiency of local and rural health programs.
Summary/Overview
The Rural Hospital Flexibility program allows small hospitals the
flexibility to reconfigure operations and be licensed as Critical
Access Hospitals (CAHs). The program supports cost-based reimbursement
for Medicare acute inpatient and outpatient services. The program
also encourages the development of rural health networks and implements
broader initiatives to strengthen the rural health care infrastructure.
The
new provisions in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and
Modernization Act of 2003 allows even greater flexibility by letting
CAHs to have up to 25 beds (versus 15 beds) designated as either
acute care beds or swing beds for post-acute care. This Medicare
law further increases the payment for both inpatient and outpatient
services rendered to Medicare beneficiaries by CAHs from 100 to
101 percent of resonable costs. The new Medicare law is intended
to increase the viability of health care services in rural areas.
Goals/Objectives
• Engage in Rural Health Planning
• Designate and Support Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)
• Develop and Implement Rural Health Networks
• Improve and Integrate Emergency Medical Services
• Improve Quality of Care
Objectives
• Support and sustain existing networks and assist with the
development of new networks.
• Support development and implementation of Hospital Quality
Improvement Measurements.
• Assist compacted, tribally administered Indian Health Service
Hospitals to assess the benefits of Critical Access Hospital designation
and implement performance improvement measures.
• Develop strategy-focused state rural health plan with measurable
targets related to Flex program values and Healthy Alaskans/Health
People 2010 indicators.
• Support program evaluation activities and initiatives.
• Enhance rural Emergency Medical Services capacity and quality
through the continued implementation of the Alaska Code Blue Project.
• Develop and implement strategies to improve quality of care
that can be implemented and maintained by Critical Access Hospitals.
• Improve the quality of rural Emergency Medical Services
and hospital trauma care through implementing quality improvement
measures.
• Support rural workforce development in collaboration with
multiple statewide agencies by devising and implementing strategies
for provider recruitment and training.
• Engage all levels of the rural health care infrastructure
in strategic planning.
Critical Access Hospital Designation Process
Critical Access Hospital designation under the Medicare Rural Hospital
Flexibility Program requires that a hospital first be designated
and then licensed by the State and certified by the federal government.
The
process
- A
provider requests certification
- An
on-site survey is conducted by Health Facilities Licensing and
Certification staff to determine if the facility meets applicable
State and Federal law and regulations
-
If requirements are met, the facility is licensed and certified
to provide health care services
- The
State Rural Hospital Flexibility Program requires a designation
that the hospital is eligible to participate in the program and
convert to a Critical Access Hospital
Application
for Initial Designation & Initial/Renewal of License as a Critical
Access Hospital
Self
Survey Module
Application
for CAH Designation
A hospital that wishes to be designated as a CAH is required to
submit an application to Health Facilities Licensing and Certification.
Application forms are provided to hospitals that have expressed
interest in CAH conversion, either formally (e.g., submission of
a letter of inter) or informally (e.g., a telephone call). The application
form is available at http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/CL/HFLC/cah.htm.
Contact
Noel Rea: Flex Project Coordinator
noel_rea@health.state.ak.us
telephone: 907.269.5024
fax: 907.269.5236 | 
