CAHs in Danger: A Call to Action

As expected, an Aug. 15 report by the Office of Inspector General recommending the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services seek legislative authority to remove necessary provider Critical Access Hospitals' permanent exemption from the program's distance requirement and revise conditions for participation has created a level of panic among a large portion of the CAHs that would be impacted.

We recommend that all CAHs review this report closely and create an action plan to protect their organizations and members of their community. To help you prepare, we are offering a free webinar "Protecting CAH Status and Preparing for the Future" on Friday, Sept. 6 from 10-11 a.m. CDT and Thursday, Sept. 12 from 2-3 p.m. CDT.

This one-hour webinar will address:

• Advocacy to demonstrate the value of rural health care and the impact (financially and otherwise) of reduced access to care
• Determining the impact to your organization
  • Is your facility at risk?
  • What are the financial implications?
• Development of potential future strategies to protect the health of your patient population

Time for Action, Not Panic

The report, titled "Most Critical Access Hospitals Would Not Meet the Location Requirements If Required to Re-enroll in Medicare," bases its recommendations upon a study conducted by OIG, which found "nearly two-thirds of the nation's CAHs would not meet the location requirements if required to re-enroll."

Now is not the time to panic. Rather, it is time to take action to preserve access to health care in our rural communities.

Please contact Ralph Llewellyn or your Eide Bailly representative to evaluate your options.