(A) The department of health is hereby designated as the state agency responsible for administering the medicare rural hospital flexibility program, as established in 42 U.S.C. 1395i-4, as amended.

(B) The director of health shall designate as a critical access hospital a hospital registered as an acute care hospital with the department under section 3701.07 of the Revised Code if the hospital meets the following requirements:

(1) Has not more than twenty-five acute care and swing beds in use at any time for the furnishing of extended care or acute care inpatient services;

(2) Has a length of stay not more than ninety-six hours per patient, on an annual average basis;

(3) Provides inpatient, outpatient, emergency, laboratory, radiology, and twenty-four hour emergency care services;

(4) Has network agreements in place for patient referral and transfer, a communication system for telemetry systems, electronic sharing of patient data, provision for emergency and non-emergency transportation, and assures credentialing and quality assurance;

(5) Was certified as a critical access hospital by the centers for medicare and medicaid services between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005, or is located in a rural area as identified below:

(a) An area within an Ohio metropolitan area designated as a rural area by the United States department of health and human services, office of rural health policy, in accordance with 42 C.F.R. 412.103 regarding rural urban commuting area codes four through ten in effect on the effective date of this section;

(b) A non-metropolitan county as designated in United States office of management and budget bulletin no. 93-17, June 30, 1993, and its attachments;

(c) A rural zip code within a metropolitan county as designated in United States office of management and budget bulletin no. 93-17, June 30, 1993, and its attachments.

Effective Date: 06-30-2005.