CMS Issues Final List of Essential Community Providers for Plan Year 2019

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today published a final list of Essential Community Providers for plan year 2019, available on the CMS website under “Application Resources.” Health insurers use the annual list to identify providers meeting ECP requirements for Qualified Health Plans participating in health insurance exchanges. The ECP hospital category includes disproportionate share hospitals, children’s hospitals, rural referral centers, sole community hospitals, free-standing cancer centers and critical access hospitals. Qualifying hospitals should confirm they are on the list and report any errors to the CMS regional office. Hospitals that serve predominantly low-income, medically-underserved individuals may petition CMS through Aug. 22 to be on the ECP list for plan year 2020.