Eligibility and Application Process
Program Eligibility
Eligible Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) applicants include small rural hospitals and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-certified rural health clinics that are not actively receiving similar TA from other federal or state programs.
Health care organizations that are located in geographic areas that are defined as rural are eligible to apply for RHPTP. Use the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer to determine eligibility.
- Clinics MUST be a certified Rural Health Clinic and comply with eligibility requirement #4 below.
- Hospitals must meet the following eligibility requirements below.
- Is located in a rural area as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d), treated as if located in a rural area pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(8)(C), or located in a FORHP rural area.
- Has 49 available beds or less, as reported on the hospital’s most recently filed Medicare Cost Report.
- Small rural hospitals may be for-profit or not-for-profit, including faith-based. Small rural hospitals in U.S. territories as well as tribally operated hospitals under Titles I and V of P.L 93-638 [PDF] tribally operated hospitals under Titles I and V of P.L. 93-638 [PDF] may receive TA if they meet the other criteria in this section
In addition, applicant organizations:
- Must not be a current participant in an advanced alternative payment model (Advanced APM) as defined by CMS.
- Must be financially stable. Applicants should consider their past and present performance as compared to national benchmarks on key performance indicators (days cash on hand, total margin, operating margin, patient revenue, days in net accounts receivable, payor mix, etc.) as well as non-measurable variables such as leadership stability and succession planning for retiring primary care providers. (Applicants can use resources like CAHMPAS and the Small Rural Hospital and Clinic Finance 101 guide to help determine financial stability.)
- Must be interested in and motivated to become part of an alternative payment model (APM).
- Must, if a small rural hospital, be meeting the quality data reporting requirements of Inpatient Quality Reporting, Outpatient Quality Reporting, or the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project.
- Must not be a current participant in the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program, the Targeted Technical Assistance for Rural Hospitals Program, or any other program that is duplicative in services.
Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer
- Health care providers who are located in geographic areas that are defined as Rural are eligible to apply for Rural Health Grants. Enter an address or choose a state and county to check for eligibility status.
Application Process
Applications can be made by individual health care organizations (critical access hospitals, small rural hospitals, rural health clinics), jointly by a hospital and a rural health clinic or clinics, or by a consortium of rural health clinics.
Each submitted application is followed by a 60-minute phone interview with members of the RHPTP team. Planning for the next cohort year is currently in progress.
The annual selection of organizations for RHPTP-focused virtual technical assistance is contingent upon funding approval for each project year.