§ 412.234 Criteria for all hospitals in an urban county seeking redesignation to another urban area.

(a) General criteria. For all prospective payment hospitals in an .urban county to be redesignated to another urban area, the following conditions must be met:

(1) All hospitals in an urban county must apply for redesignation as a group.

(2) The county in which the hospitals are located must be adjacent to the urban area to which they seek redesignation.

(3)

(i) For Federal fiscal years before fiscal year 2006, the counties in which the hospitals are located must be part of the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) that includes the urban area to which they seek redesignation.

(ii) For Federal fiscal year 2006, hospitals located in counties that are in the same Combined Statistical Area (CSA) (under the MSA definitions announced by the OMB on June 6, 2003) as the urban area to which they seek redesignation; or in the same Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) (under the standards published by the OMB on March 30, 1990) as the urban area to which they seek designation qualify as meeting the proximity requirements for reclassification to the urban area to which they seek redesignation.