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Critical Access Designation

Critical Access Designation

CMH recently received official designation as a Medicare Critical Access Hospital (CAH) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

A CAH is a hospital that is certified to receive cost-based reimbursement from Medicare services. The reimbursement that these hospitals receive is intended to improve their financial performance and thereby reduce hospital closures.

“Critical Access will be a positive move for our organization,” said Carolyn E. Riley, Interim President/CEO of CMH. “We will now be reimbursed cost plus one percent for our Medicare patients. This is key for many rural hospitals like us that are facing extreme financial challenges.”

Critical access is a designation by the federal government that recognizes rural hospitals as being “critical” in meeting the healthcare needs of the local community; thus, improving the Medicare reimbursement to cover the cost of providing medically necessary services. Some of the criteria for receiving CAH designation include providing 24-hour emergency services, having a maximum of 25 acute care inpatient beds and completing a separate Joint Commission Survey. CMH’s inpatient census has consistently been below 25 for the past several years.

“Being Critical Access doesn’t diminish our services or quality of care at all,” stated Riley. “As a matter of fact, the improved reimbursement will allow us to invest more resources into things like new equipment, staff education and quality initiatives.”

CMH is now one of 36 Critical Access Hospitals in Michigan. There are more than 1,400 such facilities across the country.

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Cheboygan
Memorial
Hospital
748 S. Main Street
Cheboygan, MI 49721
231-627-5601
800-866-9196