Rural Health Care
About Rural Health Care:
- Overview of the Program
- Overview of the Process
- Monthly Conference Calls
- Site Visits
- Understanding Audits
- Filing Appeals
- Rural Health Care Pilot Program
Rural Health Care Tools:
Latest News
Below are current news announcements relevant to the Rural Health Care Program. You can access previous announcements by clicking the latest news archive.
Window Opening for Funding Year 2008
We are pleased to announce that the application window for Funding Year 2008 will open on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 3PM EDT. On April 8, applicants will be able to post their Form 465 for Funding Year 2008 (July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009).
Below are some tips and links to our website to help you with this process.
- To be eligible for a full year's support, an applicant must post Form 465 by June 2, 2008, unless you have an Evergreen Contract (see below). Remember you must wait 28-days for bids before entering into a service agreement.
- If you have an "Evergreen Contract " but might change your service or renew your contract during Fund Year 2008, you should post a Form 465. (Evergreen Contracts must have been verified by RHCD in a prior Fund Year.)
- If you have enabled E-Cert, go to Applicant Login to submit and post a Form 465. If you have not enabled E-Cert, but are eligible for E-Cert as a prior applicant, login and enable E-Cert before completing Form 465.
If you wish, you may also download a PDF version of Form 465.
For other tips and best practices please follow this link to our website. If you have any questions please call our customer service center at (800) 229-5476.
USAC Posts Information on Changes and Corrections for RHC Participants
USAC's Rural Health Care Division has posted new information about changes and corrections that are allowed under the Rural Health Care Program. The new Changes and Corrections page provides links to information about changes and corrections such as contact information updates, evergreen contracts, "Good Samaritans" information, and Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) Changes. The SPIN Change guidance includes information for Corrective and Operational SPIN changes.
OMB Approves Data Collection for Comprehensive Review of the Universal Service Fund Management, Administration, and Oversight. (FCC 07-150, released August 29, 2007)
This Order extended to service providers the current requirement that rural health care providers retain records to show that funding was proper for five years from the last day of delivery of a discounted service. The Order also clarified any other documents that demonstrate compliance with statutory or regulatory requirements for the rural health care mechanism shall be retained and that such records must be made available by contractors and consultants working on behalf of rural health care providers. The OMB approval was 1/23/2008.
The Rural Health Care Customer Support Center will be Closed on February 18 in Observance of President' s Day. (2/15/08)
The Rural Health Care Customer Support Center will be closed on Monday, February 18, in Observance of President' s Day. The Customer Support Center will resume normal operations on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. EDT.
Federal Communications Commission extends "grandfathered" rural site eligibility for three years in response to ATA Petition
Details of the order are available at: hraunfoss.fcc.gov
USAC Welcome Letter to FCC Pilot Program Selected Applicants with Clarification
USAC Welcome Letter to FCC Pilot Program [PDF, 52KB]
FCC Selects 69 Rural Health Care Pilot Program Applicants for $417 Million in Funding over Three Years (11/19/07)
The Federal Communications Commission allocated over $417 million for its Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) for the construction of 69 statewide or regional broadband telehealth networks in 42 states and three U.S. territories.
The FCC modified the Pilot Program by increasing the funding period from two years to three years and by increasing the available support for selected participants to approximately $139 million in each funding year of the three-year program. Below are the list of program applicants, the FCC’s news release, and the order selecting the participants.
List of Program Applicants: Word | Acrobat
News Release: Word | Acrobat
Order: Word | Acrobat
The Rural Health Care Customer Support Center will be closed on Monday, September 3, 2007 in observance of Labor Day.
The Rural Health Care Customer Support Center will be closed on Monday, September 3, 2007 in observance of Labor Day. The Customer Support Center will resume normal operations on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 8:00 a.m. EDT.
The Rural Health Care Program will not be holding its monthly conference call scheduled for August 09, 2007
The Rural Health Care Program will not be holding its monthly conference call scheduled for August 09, 2007. Our next conference call will be held on September 13, 2007.
FCC Announces May Deadline for Rural Healthcare Pilot Program (3/9/07)
- DA-07-1188A1 [PDF, 137KB]
Window Opening for Funding Year 2007
We are pleased to announce that the application window for Funding Year 2007 will open on Monday March 12, 2007. On March 12, applicants will be able to post their Form 465 for Funding Year 2007 (July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008).
Below are some tips and links to our website to help you with this process.
- To be eligible for a full year's support, an applicant must post Form 465 by June 2, 2007, unless you have an evergreen contract (see below). Remember you must wait 28-days for bids before entering into a service agreement.
- If you have an " evergreen contract " but might change your service or renew your contract during Fund Year 2007, you should post a Form 465. (Evergreen contracts must have been verified by RHCD in a prior Fund Year.)
- If you have enabled E-Cert, go to Applicant Login to submit and post a Form 465. If you have not enabled E-Cert, but are eligible as a prior applicant, login and enable E-Cert before completing Form 465.
If you wish, you may also download Excel or PDF versions of Form 465.
For other tips and best practices please follow this link to our website. If you have any questions please call our customer service center at (800) 229-5476.
