April 2, 2026
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Maintenance: April 5, 2026
RHC Connect will be unavailable on Sunday, April 5, 2026, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. ET due to system maintenance. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.
April 1, 2026
Last Day to Submit FY2026 Funding Requests!
The Funding Year (FY) 2026 filing window opened on December 1, 2025, and closes today. This means all funding requests (FCC Forms 462 or 466) must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. ET this evening.
The following resources have been posted to the USAC website to assist applicants that are submitting the FCC Form 462 for the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program through the RHC program online application platform, RHC Connect:
The following resources have been posted to the USAC website to assist applicants that are submitting the FCC Form 466 for the Telecommunications (Telecom) Program in RHC Connect:
The RHC Customer Service Center will be open until midnight. Please reach out to them by email at RHC-Assist@usac.org, or by phone at (800)453-1546.
NOTE: Forms that are in draft status are not considered submitted. Each FCC Form 462 and 466 must be signed, certified, and submitted prior to the April 1st deadline to be considered for funding. Learn more about filing windows.
March 27, 2026
RHC Program Inflation-Based Cap Announced for FY2026
The Rural Health Care (RHC) program funding cap for funding year (FY) 2026 is $744,161,841. The internal cap for upfront payments and multi-year commitments under the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program is $187,898,8742. The internal cap for upfront payments and multi-year commitments will apply only if RHC program demand exceeds available funding. These new caps represent a 2.8 percent inflation-adjusted increase to the $723,892,841 RHC program funding cap and the $182,780,877 internal cap on multi-year commitments and upfront payments from FY2025. Read the announcement.
March 25, 2026
One Week Left! RHC Program FY2026 Filing Window Closes on April 1!
The Funding Year (FY) 2026 filing window opened on December 1, 2025, and will close on April 1, 2026. This means all funding requests (FCC Forms 462 or 466) must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on April 1, 2026. The following resources have been posted to the USAC website to assist applicants that are submitting the FCC Form 462 for the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program:
The following resources have been posted to the USAC website to assist applicants that are submitting the FCC Form 466 for the Telecommunications (Telecom):
NOTE: Forms that are in draft status are not considered submitted. Each FCC Form 462 and 466 must be signed, certified, and submitted prior to the April 1st deadline to be considered for funding. Learn more about filing windows.
March 23, 2026
FCC Order DA 24-366 – Directs USAC to Accept Late-Filed Funding Requests
Beginning in funding year (FY) 2024, the FCC directed USAC to allow health care providers to file funding requests in the RHC Program up to 30 days after the close of the application filing window. If the FCC grants a waiver of the application filing deadline, USAC will process the funding request as if it was timely filed prior to the close of the application filing window. USAC will dismiss the funding request if there is no request to waive the application filing deadline or if the FCC denies the waiver request.
For more information, please read FCC Order DA 24-366.
