Missouri Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP)

The Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program administered by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP). Section 1820(g)(3) of the Social Security Act (SSA) authorizes SHIP to assist eligible hospitals in meeting the costs of implementing data system requirements established under the Medicare Program, including using funds to assist hospitals in participating in improvements in value and quality to health care such as:

• Value-Based Purchasing Programs (VBP)
• Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
• Payment Bundling (PB)

Eligible small rural hospitals are located in the United States and its territories and include hospitals with 49 available beds or less. These small rural, non-federal hospitals provide short-term, general acute care to their communities. They may be for-profit, not-for-profit, or tribal organizations. Critical access hospitals are also eligible for the SHIP.

Missouri SHIP Grant

The DHSS, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC) administers the SHIP grant, which runs from June 1 – May 31 each year. The number of eligible and participating hospitals may vary on an annual basis. The current SHIP grant is on a 4 year cycle, beginning in FY23.

Annually, participating hospitals select eligible investment activities from three investment categories. The below chart shows hospital selections for the current grant year, FY23.\

Participating hospitals are required to submit activity progress reports and invoices to ORHPC on a quarterly basis.