UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND - RURAL HEALTH CARE

 

The Rural Health Care Program, one of the FCCs Universal Service Fund programs, provides funding to eligible health care providers for telecommunications and broadband services necessary for the provision of health care. The goal of the program is to improve the quality of health care available to patients in rural communities by ensuring that eligible health care providers have access to telecommunications and broadband services. The Rural Health Care Program is currently made up of two programs: the Telecommunications Program and the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program. The Telecommunications Program, established in 1997, subsidizes the difference between urban and rural rates for telecommunications services. Under the Telecommunications Program, eligible rural health care providers can obtain rates on telecommunications services in rural areas that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in corresponding urban areas. The HCF Program, established in 2012, promotes the use of broadband services and facilitates the formation of health care provider consortia that include both rural and urban health care providers by providing a flat 65% discount on an array of advanced telecommunications and information services. These services include internet access, dark fiber, business data, traditional digital service line (DSL), and private carriage services. Universal service has been defined by Congress as an evolving level of telecommunications services . . . taking into account advances in telecommunications and information technologies and services.

Active 32.005 Federal Communications Commission (Fcc) C - Direct Payments For Specified Use Not applicable. 47 U.S.C. 254
The Rural Health Care Program was authorized as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and created through rulemaking by the Commission in 1997 to, among other things, ensure to that rural health care providers pay rates for telecommunications services that are reasonably comparable to the rates paid by their urban counterparts and to enhance, to the extent technically feasible and economically reasonable, access to advanced telecommunications and information services for all health care providers. Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996). Eligible health care providers include: (1) post-secondary educational institutions offering health care instruction, including teaching hospitals and medical schools; (2) community health centers or health centers providing health care to migrants; (3) local health departments or agencies; (4) community mental health centers; (5) not-for-profit hospitals; (6) rural health clinics; (7) skilled nursing facilities (as defined in 42 USC ? 1395i-3(a)) and (8) consortium of health care providers consisting of one or more entities falling into the first seven categories. In addition, eligible health care providers must be non-profit or public. Not applicable. In the Telecommunications Program, applicants must file: FCC Form 465 (Description of Services Requested and Certification Form), FCC Form 466 (Funding Request and Certification Form) and FCC Form 467 (Connection Certification Form). In the Healthcare Connect Fund Program, applicants must file: FCC Form 460 (Eligibility and Registration Form), FCC Form 461 (Request for Services Form), FCC Form 462 (Funding Request Form), and FCC Form 463 (Invoice and Request for Disbursement Form). Service providers in both programs must file FCC Form 498 (Service Provider and Billed Entity Identification Number and General Contact Information Form) to obtain a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN). Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Health care providers must: (1) submit information to the program administrator to establish their eligibility to participate in the Rural Health Care Program; (2) initiate and complete an FCC-compliant competitive bidding process and select the most cost-effective service offering; and (3) submit a funding request application to the program administrator with all required supporting documentation. The program administrator will issue a letter containing a decision on the funding request. If the funding request is approved and after the approved services have been provided to the health care provider, invoices may be submitted to the program administrator for disbursements to the health care provider's service provider. USAC reviews each funding application to ensure compliance with program rules and procedures. The competitive bidding, program application and other required program processes described herein are governed by the FCC's rules at 47 CFR ? 54.600 et. seq. and associated FCC Orders for the Rural Health Care Program. After a submitted application undergoes a program review, the applicant will receive a Funding Commitment Letter providing the total amount of approved support for each funding request or indicating that its funding request has been denied. December 1, 2022 to April 3, 2023 This is the current filing window period administered by the FCC's Rural Health Care Program administrator, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). Funding request applications may only be submitted during an open filing window period. A filing window period is a fixed period of time when all funding requests, submitted during a specific period, are treated as received simultaneously. Filing window periods may vary by year, but are always announced in advance of the upcoming funding year. The window to submit funding requests is generally between December and March before the start of the upcoming funding year (July 1). USAC will post announcements on its website about the upcoming application window or any changes to current deadlines. The FY2023 funding request filing window will open on December 1, 2022 and close on April 3, 2023. Applicants were able to start submitting their FCC Forms 461 and 465 to request services and begin the competitive bidding process starting July 1, 2022. The RHC funding year runs from July 1 to June 30 of the subsequent year. Participants are encouraged to check USAC's website for any changes or updates regarding the deadlines posted in this listing. The FCC has not set a specific date range for funding decisions but has a program target to encourage efficient processing of program applications. Approval/denial notifications are sent on a rolling basis. Due to the unique nature of each application and review, there is not a standard date range for when decisions are issued. From 30 to 60 days. An appeal of a program decision must be filed with the FCC within 60 days of the date of the decision by USAC, provided the party seeking appeal first sought review of the decision from USAC. A request for waiver of the Rural Health Care Program rules must be filed directly with the FCC within 60 days of the date of the decision by USAC. Not applicable. Not applicable. Health care providers that seek to use financial assistance for voice and other telecommunication services may be eligible for funding through the Telecommunications Program. The level of discounts provided is determined using an urban/rural rate differential. Health care providers that seek to use financial assistance for broadband services, network equipment, etc., may be eligible for funding through the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program. The level of discounts provided for HCF is a flat 65% discount on eligible expenses. Health care providers seeking HCF Program support can apply as an individual provider or as part of a consortium, i.e., a group of HCPs that can be both rural and non-rural. The consortium applicant must have more than 50 percent rural health care provider sites. The services eligible under the HCF Program include internet access, dark fiber, business data, traditional digital service line (DSL), and private carriage services. Not applicable. Participants may be subject to program compliance audits through USAC's Beneficiary and Contributor Compliance Audits program to ensure compliance with program rules and orders. USAC conducts these audits with FCC oversight. Finally, the Payment Quality Assurance (PQA) program allows USAC to provide the FCC with information about improper program payments, as required by the Payment Integrity Information Act. Through the PQA program, USAC assesses specific program payments to test whether these payments were made in accordance with FCC rules. Using the results of these assessments, USAC calculates estimates of the improper payment rates and provides this information to the FCC. Applicants and service providers are required to retain records relating to pre-bidding, bidding, contracts, application process, invoices, provision of services, and other matters relating to the administration of universal service for a period of at least five years after the latter of the last day of the applicable funding year or the service delivery deadline for the funding request. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Funding requests are generally submitted in a window between December and March (inclusive) before the start of the upcoming funding year. The funding year starts July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year. Applicants in the Rural Health Care Program must reapply for funding each year unless the applicant has received a Healthcare Connect Fund Program multi-year funding commitment. Funding is awarded to applicants through a Funding Commitment Letter. Federal Communications Commission, Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), Telecommunications Access Policy Division (TAPD) Bryan Boyle, Deputy Division Chief, TAPD
45 L Street NE
WASHINGTON, DC 20554 USA
bryan.boyle@FCC.GOV
Phone: 202.418.7400 https://www.fcc.gov/general/rural-health-care-program 27-5183-0-0-376 (Direct Payments for Specified Use) FY 22$734,700,000.00; FY 23 est $671,000,000.00; FY 24 est $718,600,000.00; FY 21$805,900,000.00; FY 19$306,000,000.00; FY 20 est $990,000,000.00; FY 18$312,000,000.00; - Not applicable/available. Program regulations (at 47 CFR ? 54.600 et seq.), Orders, Public Notices, News Releases, program forms, form instructions, and other announcements for the program. Fiscal Year 2018 Funding telecommunications services, broadband and infrastructure for rural healthcare providers
Fiscal Year 2019 Actual Funding telecommunications services, broadband and infrastructure for rural healthcare providers.
Fiscal Year 2020 Funding telecommunications services, broadband and infrastructure for rural healthcare providers.
Fiscal Year 2023 Providing funding to eligible health care providers to subsidize the cost of broadband and telecommunications services necessary for the provision of health care.