New Mexico § 24-1-5.12 - Rural emergency hospital licensure; licensing requirements

§ 24-1-5.12. Rural emergency hospital licensure; licensing requirements

A. The department shall promulgate rules to establish a rural emergency hospital license

that enables certain hospitals to apply to receive federal health care reimbursement

as rural emergency hospitals. B. The department shall only issue a rural emergency hospital license to a health

facility that: (1) on December 27, 2020, was: (a) designated as a critical access hospital by the centers for medicare and medicaid

services; or (b) licensed as a hospital with less than fifty licensed beds and located in a county

in a rural area as defined in Section 1886(d)(2)(D) or Section 1886(d)(8)(E) of the

federal Social Security Act; (2) provides rural emergency hospital services in the facility twenty-four hours per

day and is staffed twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week with a physician,

nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or physician assistant; (3) has a transfer agreement in effect with a level I or level II trauma center; (4) does not have an annual average patient length of stay over twenty-four hours;

and (5) meets any other requirements that the department finds necessary to implement

state licensure and satisfy centers for medicare and medicaid services requirements

for reimbursement as a rural emergency hospital. C. A health facility that applies to the department for licensure as a rural emergency

hospital shall include with the licensure application: (1) an action plan for initiating rural emergency hospital services, including a detailed

transition plan that lists the specific services that the facility will retain, modify,

add and discontinue; (2) a description of services that the facility intends to provide on an outpatient

basis; and (3) any other information required by rules of the department. D. A rural emergency hospital shall not have inpatient beds, but a rural emergency

hospital may have a unit that is a distinct part of the hospital that is licensed

as a skilled nursing facility and provides post-hospital extended care services. E. For the purposes of this section: (1) “ department ” means the department of health; and (2) “ rural emergency hospital ” means a health facility that provides emergency and observational care and meets

the licensure requirements outlined in Subsection B of this section.