Critical Access Hospitals
Recognizing the benefits of preserving their hospital to the health of rural communities, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 established the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (MRHFP). The MRHFP creates a new category of rural, limited service hospital, the Critical Access Hospital (CAH). The CAH allows a community to maintain access to primary care and emergency care when the maintenance of a full service acute care hospital is no longer feasible.
The Tennessee MRHFP encourages small rural hospitals to redesign themselves as the experts in providing primary and emergency health care services. To do this, hospitals will reduce their excess hospital beds, maintain high quality emergency and primary care services, and provide the care that fits their realm of acute and specialty care services.
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The result: communities with access to an extensive, high quality, efficient, financially viable health care system.
To find out more about Tennessee's CAH Program, see the CAH Resources section below.
CAH Resources
• THA CAH Update - May 2000*
• CAH Program Manual*
• CAH Application*
• Financial Feasibility Study Application*
• FAQs About CAH Designation*
* Requires Adobe Acrobat
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