This bill eliminates certain criteria that hospitals must meet in order to qualify as critical access hospitals that receive special payment under Medicare.
Specifically, the bill eliminates the requirement that a hospital must either (1) be located more than 35 miles (15 miles in mountainous regions or areas with only secondary roads) from another hospital, or (2) have been certified prior to January 1, 2006, by the state as a necessary provider of services in the area.