Medicare Program; Modification of Limitations on Redesignation by the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board (MGCRB)

This interim final rule with comment period (IFC) amends our current regulations to allow hospitals with a rural redesignation under the Social Security Act (the Act) to reclassify through the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board (MGCRB) using the rural reclassified area as the geographic area in which the hospital is located. These regulatory changes align our policy with the decision in Bates County Memorial Hospital v. Azar, effective with reclassifications beginning with fiscal year (FY) 2023. We would also apply the policy in this IFC when deciding timely appeals before the Administrator of applications for reclassifications beginning with FY 2022 that were denied by the MGCRB due to the current policy, which does not permit hospitals with rural redesignations to use the rural area's wage data for purposes of reclassifying under the MGCRB.