Submit a letter requesting a Financial Feasibility Study to:
Cari Fouts, Director
Critical Access Hospital Program
Colorado Rural Health Center
3033 S. Parker Rd., Suite 606
Aurora, CO 80014
FAX: 303-832-7496
Your letter of request will be sent to the Colorado Health and Hospital
Association and the study will be scheduled. CHA has contracted with
a cost report/accounting specialist to conduct the studies.
The facility administration, board and medical staff will review the
results of the financial feasibility study to determine whether or not
it is appropriate to convert to CAH status. At this point, it is also
recommended that the local community members become educated regarding
CAH status either through town meetings, newspaper articles, or printed
brochures.
If it is determined that it is appropriate for the facility to convert
to CAH status, a letter signed by the facility's administrator must
be submitted requesting "designation as a Critical Access Hospital"
to:
Cari Fouts, Director
Critical Access Hospital Program
Colorado Rural Health Center
3033 S. Parker Rd., Suite 606
Aurora, CO 80014
FAX: 303-832-7496
The request will be forwarded to the Health Facilities Division of
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The Health
Facilities Division will send a packet to the facility containing information
for the survey. Specific documents will be requested BEFORE the
survey is scheduled.
Once the facility returns the completed application packet to the
Health Facilities Division, the HFD will review the information, and
then schedule the survey. The survey is conducted in two parts: The
Life and Safety code (physical plant) survey, and the policy survey.
Usually these surveys are conducted at least a week apart. The Life and
Safety code survey is usually conducted first and is usually not scheduled
in advance. The surveyors will present to the facility unannounced.
The subsequent policy survey will be scheduled in advance.
Upon satisfactory completion of the survey and/or an acceptable "Plan
of Correction" is submitted, the Health Facilities Division will send
paperwork to the Regional office of CMS (formerly HCFA). CMS will certify
the facility as a Critical Access Hospital and issue a new provider
number.
CMS will send a certification letter to the facility, which will include
the effective date of conversion and the new provider number. A copy
of this letter will be forwarded by CMS to the facility's fiscal intermediary.
The facility should also immediately forward a copy of the letter to
the FI.
The certification date will be the date of a completed, deficiency-free
survey OR the date the facility administrator signs the acceptable Plan
of Correction. If a certification date LATER than the date
of the survey or POC is desired, the facility MUST request the date
in writing to CMS. A certification date on the first of the month,
or the beginning of the year is optimal. This prevents the
submission of multiple cost reports for partial months/years.
VERY IMPORTANT: Throughout the conversion process, the facility
should remain in close contact with the fiscal intermediary. A representative
from the hospital should be designated to communicate with an FI representative
who is familiar with CAH conversion. Ask for written instructions and
timeframes for how to communicate with the FI. For EDI, the facility
must file a new application with the new provider number. Stay in close
communication to find out when the new number is in the system and the
facility may begin billing.
Please do not hesitate to ask ANY questions! Call
Cari at (303) 832-7493 or (800) 851-6782, or email at cf@coruralhealth.org.
