Critical access hospitals by state

A critical access hospital is a Medicare designation for a small rural hospital. Under the federal rules, it keeps no more than 25 inpatient beds, its stays do not exceed 96 hours per patient on an annual average basis, and its emergency services are available 24 hours a day. It must be located more than a 35-mile drive on primary roads (or, in mountainous terrain or in areas with only secondary roads available, a 15-mile drive) from a hospital or another critical access hospital, unless the state certified it as a necessary provider before January 1, 2006. The designation exists to keep emergency care within reach in places too small to support a full general hospital, and it changes how Medicare pays them.

We list 1,384 critical access hospitals that report to Medicare (CMS), in 45 states; Texas has the most (93). States with fewer than 3 are listed on this page, with a link to each hospital, rather than on a page of their own.

No more than 25 inpatient beds, under the federal rules for critical access hospitals (42 CFR 485.620).

Stays may not exceed 96 hours per patient on an annual average basis (42 CFR 485.620). It is an average across the year, not a limit on any one patient's stay.