Subscriptions
Allowable
Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
Payment Bundling (PB)/Prospective Payment System (PPS)
Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Investment
Updated February 2025
Subscriptions for products that provide critical services are becoming more prevalent in rural hospitals.
Generally, subscriptions for software are allowable. Please see the table below or email SHIP-TA@ruralcenter.org and copy your PO with questions or concerns.
Examples of allowable expenses include but are not limited to:
| SHIP Quality Reporting (inc. MBQIP core measures) | HCAHPS | Quality Improvement Training |
| Telehealth Platforms (Excluding Provider Fees) | Disease Registries | Population Health Databases |
| ACO Subscriptions or Fees | ICD-10/11 Software Subscriptions | Cybersecurity and/or IT security software |
| HIPAA Compliance | Interoperability software | Provider Databases for Care Coordination |
| Data Collection (e.g. intake software or SDOH screening for Quality Improvement and/or Care Coordination) | EMR/EHR | Price Transparency software |
| S-10 Cost Reporting software | HIPAA-compliant web and video conferencing platforms exclusively for telehealth |
Note: A common example is ICD Software. Whereas a hospital purchased one program that could be downloaded to multiple computers (or server accessed), many ICD companies have now moved to cloud-based subscription services where the hospital pays a "per user" license. This specific example would be allowable under "Payment Bundling, A: ICD-10 Software."
