The MDH Program affects roughly 200 rural hospitals in the United States, and it provides special Medicare rates to these hospitals because they have high populations of Medicare patients. A hospital qualifies for the MDH Program if it is located in a rural area, has 100 beds or fewer, is not a “sole community hospital” and has at least 60 percent of inpatient days or discharges covered by Medicare.
Conversely, the LVH Program affects hospitals in rural communities that may not serve a high volume of patients. These low-volume, prospective payment system hospitals receive enhanced Medicare adjustments if they are more than 15 road miles from another comparable hospital and have less than 1,600 Medicare discharges per year.
