Federal Register #WC Docket No. 17-310

FCC Solicitation for Public Comment on Rural Health Care Program Improvements

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking public comments on proposed improvements to the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, targeting enhanced telehealth services in rural America. - Government Buyer: - Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - Wireline Competition Bureau - Products and Services Requested: - Telecommunications services for rural health care providers - Includes backup, redundant, or fail-over services - Must be cost-effective and reflect secondary use - Advanced telecommunications and information services for Healthcare Connect Fund Program - Enables health care providers to communicate, generate, and interact with data over networks - Eligible services to be defined in a new list - No specific OEMs or vendors are named in the solicitation - No part numbers or purchase quantities are specified - Unique/Notable Requirements: - Redefining similar services and comparable rural areas for rate calculations - Reducing cost study burdens for rural telecommunications rates - Promoting lower-cost backup technologies - Establishing an eligible services list for the RHC Program - Adopting performance metrics for funding requests - Eliminating certain contract approval and reporting requirements (e.g., HCF annual report, evergreen contract approval) - Safeguarding the Universal Service Fund - The FCC is focused on improving program efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing access to telehealth in rural areas.

Description

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comments on various aspects related to telehealth services in rural America. The proposed rule aims to address the scope of similar service and rural area comparability requirements, improve or replace existing cost study methods for rural telecommunications rates, promote lower-cost backup technologies, establish an eligible services list for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, adopt performance metrics for RHC funding requests, and eliminate certain contract approval and reporting requirements. Comments are due by September 30, 2026, with reply comments due by October 30, 2026. The goal is to reduce burdens and costs on RHC Program participants while protecting the Universal Service Fund from waste, fraud, and abuse.

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