CMS Rural Community Hospital Demonstration 

– Apply by March 1.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is conducting a new solicitation to select 10 hospitals to participate in the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration. This demonstration tests the feasibility and advisability of paying rural hospitals with fewer than 51 beds and that are not eligible to be Critical Access Hospitals cost-based reimbursement for Medicare inpatient services. Per statute, CMS can only accept applications from hospitals in the 20 least densely populated States, according to data for 2020 from the U.S. Census Bureau: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming. The demonstration began in 2004 and has been extended three times. The current 5-year period of participation ends June 30, 2028. Hospitals currently participating in the demonstration do not need to complete a new application.  If you have questions about the demonstration, please email RC*****@*****hs.gov.

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