N.M. Stat. § 24-1-5.12

A. The department shall promulgate rules to establish a rural emergency hospital license that enables certain hospitals to apply to receive federal health care reimbursement as rural emergency hospitals.

B. The department shall only issue a rural emergency hospital license to a health facility that:

(1) on December 27, 2020, was:

(a) designated as a critical access hospital by the centers for medicare and medicaid services; or

(b) licensed as a hospital with less than fifty licensed beds and located in a county in a rural area as defined in Section 1886(d)(2)(D) or Section 1886(d)(8)(E) of the federal Social Security Act;

(2) provides rural emergency hospital services in the facility twenty-four hours per day and is staffed twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week with a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or physician assistant;

(3) has a transfer agreement in effect with a level I or level II trauma center;

(4) does not have an annual average patient length of stay over twenty-four hours; and

(5) meets any other requirements that the department finds necessary to implement state licensure and satisfy centers for medicare and medicaid services requirements for reimbursement as a rural emergency hospital.

C. A health facility that applies to the department for licensure as a rural emergency hospital shall include with the licensure application:

(1) an action plan for initiating rural emergency hospital services, including a detailed transition plan that lists the specific services that the facility will retain, modify, add and discontinue;

(2) a description of services that the facility intends to provide on an outpatient basis; and

(3) any other information required by rules of the department.

D. A rural emergency hospital shall not have inpatient beds, but a rural emergency hospital may have a unit that is a distinct part of the hospital that is licensed as a skilled nursing facility and provides post-hospital extended care services.

E. For the purposes of this section:

(1) “ department ” means the department of health; and

(2) “ rural emergency hospital ” means a health facility that provides emergency and observational care and meets the licensure requirements outlined in Subsection B of this section.