🏥Medicare's Request for Hospital Facility Expansion Exception
Medicare Program; Announcement of Request for an Exception From the Prohibition on Expansion of Facility Capacity Under the Hospital Ownership and Rural Provider Exceptions to the Physician Self-Referral Prohibition
Summary
The Social Security Act prohibits a hospital with physician ownership that relies on the exception to the physician self-referral law for hospitals outside of Puerto Rico or for rural providers from expanding its facility capacity unless the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services grants the hospital's request for an exception from that prohibition after considering input on the request from individuals and entities in the community where the hospital is located. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has received a request from a hospital with physician ownership for an exception from the prohibition on expansion of facility capacity. This notice solicits comments on the request from individuals and entities in the community in which the hospital is located. Community input may inform our decision to approve or deny the hospital's request for an exception from the prohibition on expansion of facility capacity.
Agencies
- Health and Human Services Department
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Business Impact
$$$ - High
The regulation involves a request for an exception to the prohibition on facility capacity expansion for hospitals, impacting hospital ownership and compliance with Medicare regulations, which directly affects business operations and financial planning for healthcare providers.