The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it is soliciting new applications for the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD) program. Up to 10 additional eligible rural hospitals may be selected to participate in the RCHD program, which currently runs through June 30, 2028. Current participants do not need to reapply.
The statute that created the program specified that applications can only be accepted from the 20 least densely populated states. For this round of applications, this means hospitals in the following states are eligible: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado,Ā Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming. This program is not open to Critical Access Hospitals.
Applications are due to RCHDemo@cms.hhs.gov by 11:59 EST on March 1, 2025. Applications can be found here. More information on the RCHD program can be found here.
