Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program

The Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program provides direct financial assistance to eligible small hospitals to help stabilize operations and sustain access to care in financially vulnerable communities. Eligible hospitals must have no more than 50 inpatient beds and a Medicare wage index value below 0.90. The program is designed to provide targeted support to hospitals facing structural payment disadvantages, with the goal of maintaining essential services and preventing avoidable closures.

Eligible hospitals must meet the following criteria: 1) have no more than 50 inpatient beds, 2) have an established wage index value of less than 0.90, and 3) defined as rural by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.