RHC Connect Updates

RHC Connect Maintenance Schedule

The Rural Healthcare Program (RHC) periodically deploys software updates to improve usability and functionality of RHC Connect, the RHC program’s online user portal.

The table below outlines dates for monthly system maintenance. All dates and times are subject to change and new dates will be added as they become available. Outage times are noted in Eastern Time.

 

Dates – Time	Reason	System Outage? (Yes/No)
April 17, 2026 – 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET	Deployment	Yes
	Regular Maintenance	No

April 5, 2026– 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET	Deployment	No
	Regular Maintenance	Yes

March 20, 2026 – 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET	Deployment	Yes
	Regular Maintenance	No

User Experience-Related System Enhancements

RHC is committed to continually improving the stakeholder experience in RHC Connect.  Have an idea or suggestion? We appreciate stakeholder feedback, and we continue to evaluate each request for potential inclusion in the future. Please send comments and feedback to the RHC outreach team at RHC-Outreach@usac.org

RHC is pleased to share the following enhancements to RHC Connect that we have implemented, informed by the feedback from our stakeholder community. The list below includes the date USAC released the enhancement, a summary of the feedback, and a summary of the enhancement implemented in response to the feedback.

April 17, 2026

Topic	Stakeholder Feedback	Enhancement Summary
FCC Form 462/466 Duplicate Check on Intake	Display duplicate information in the FCC Forms 462/466	Applicants can now view updated data on duplicate table on the Rates page including the Rates tab on the FCC Form 466 and Expense Items tab on the FCC Form 462. Applicants can comment on potential duplicates and there is now a duplicate validation on the signature page.
FCC Form 462 General Operational Effectiveness Enhancements	Offer clearer reasoning and navigation while in the form.	Added a “Request Reason(s)” field to the Information Request table on the Information Request visible to both applicants and reviewers, so it is clear why additional information is being requested. For navigation updates, a “Back to Application” button is added on the Information Request view for quick return to underlying application after reviewing or responding to a request.
Telecom SPIN Change Information Requests	Add Information Requests to the Telecom SPIN change application review process.	Applicants can see all open and past information requests related to their Telecom SPIN change PCCRs in one place, submit responses, and upload documentation through RHC Connect. Applicants will receive email notification when there is an information request created and when an information request deadline is approaching.
General Enhancements and Bug Fixes	Update existing features to enhance user experience.	Recall for FCC Form 462 fixed  In the 20-Mar-2026 release, we disabled the option that allowed applicants to recall an FCC Form 462 because a bug was discovered with this process.   With release H-26.2 / T-26.2, we have corrected the bug and re-enabled the recall option for the FCC Form 462.   Account holder telephone number formatting  We’ve corrected the inconsistent formatting of account holder telephone numbers on the Information Requests tab for both internal and external users.  Organization creation and group rename race condition  We fixed a strange bug that sometimes caused the creation of new HCPs to fail because the system would record the new HCP before it checked to see if the HCP already existed.   Duplicate line items in bulk upload template  Fixed a vulnerability in the Form 463 bulk invoice upload template that allowed duplicate line items to be submitted.  FCC Form 469 submission after IFD  Fixed an issue where the HCP was able to submit the invoice to USAC after the invoice filing deadline had passed if the service provider had submitted it before the IFD.   Removed the TPA refresh notice We removed the message about TPA refresh and the report download that had been visible since the TPA refresh project.

March 20, 2026

Topic	Stakeholder Feedback	Enhancement Summary
Administrative ease – FCC Form 466	The ability to copy data from prior year forms.	Applicants now have the option to pre-populate their FCC Form 466 with data from the prior year, saving significant time and preventing input errors.
Account holder transparency – Organization Detail Screen	Updated view of account holders – More information on the Organizations Detail screen.	Internal and external views of the Organization Details > Summary page have been redesigned to better display all account holders. Third-party account holders are now visually separated from traditional account holders. Further, RHC Connect will now show TPA/LOA expiration and links to the TPA/LOA document directly on the page. This enhanced view should make it easier for internal and external users to understand who has access to the HCP.
Third-party warning	Stakeholders want to be made aware of any change or new submission of a TPA when there’s another consultant group attached to that TPA.	If an applicant attempts to submit a TPA for an HCP that is already actively associated with another consultant group, there will be a warning presented to that applicant. TPA reviewers will be presented with a similar warning so that they can perform any necessary outreach.
Third-party warning	Related to above.	Note required for account holder change – Now, when an RHC user changes the account holders for an HCP, they will be required to add a note or an attachment. This small change will increase auditability.