Sec.  54.605   Determining the urban rate.

   (a) If a rural health care provider requests an eligible service to be
   provided over a distance that is less than or equal to the “standard urban
   distance,” as defined in paragraph (c) of this section, for the state in
   which it is located, the urban rate for that service shall be a rate no
   higher than the highest tariffed or publicly-available rate charged to a
   commercial customer for a functionally similar service in any city with a
   population  of  50,000 or more in that state, calculated as if it were
   provided between two points within the city.

   (b) If a rural health care provider requests an eligible service to be
   provided  over  a  distance  that  is greater than the “standard urban
   distance,” as defined in paragraph (c) of this section, for the state in
   which it is located, the urban rate for that service shall be a rate no
   higher than the highest tariffed or publicly-available rate charged to a
   commercial customer for a functionally similar service provided over the
   standard urban distance in any city with a population of 50,000 or more in
   that state, calculated as if the service were provided between two points
   within the city.

   (c) The “standard urban distance” for a state is the average of the longest
   diameters of all cities with a population of 50,000 or more within the
   state.

   (d) The Administrator shall calculate the “standard urban distance” and
   shall post the “standard urban distance” and the maximum supported distance
   for each state on its website.

   [ 62 FR 32948 , June 17, 1997, as amended at  63 FR 2131 , Jan. 13, 1998;  63 FR 70572 , Dec. 21, 1998;  68 FR 74502 , Dec. 24, 2003]