CMS launched the REH designation on Jan. 1, 2023, to address concerns that rural and critical access hospital closures are reducing access to care for people in rural areas. The new Medicare provider type aims to curb rural hospital closures by offering them a chance to close infrequently used inpatient beds and focus on outpatient and emergency department services.
In exchange for giving up their expensive inpatient beds and focusing solely on emergency and outpatient care, rural emergency hospitals receive a 5% increase in Medicare payments as well as an average facility fee payment of about $3.2 million a year.
More than 30 hospitals have converted to REHs, including one other hospital in Tennessee: Tristar Ashland City Medical Center.
Wayne Medical Center is managed by Colombia, Tenn.-based Maury Regional Health, which also operates hospitals in Lewisburg and Waynesboro, according to its website.
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