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Announcements

Announcements

October 15, 2024
New Form for Telecommunications (Telecom) Program Invoicing

The FCC Form 469 is the new form for the Telecom Program. Per FCC Order 23-6, the FCC Form 469 is aligned with the FCC Form 463. One key difference is that the service provider will submit the FCC Form 469 in RHC Connect, the applicant will receive an email alerting them of the submission, and the applicant will officially submit the form to USAC by certifying and signing the form. Beginning in FY2024, the FCC Form 467, the Healthcare Provider Support Schedule (HSS), and the Telecom invoice will be eliminated in the Telecom Program.

For more information, please visit the Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 469 webpage.

October 15, 2024
FCC Waives Certain RHC Program Rules in Response to Hurricane Milton

On October 9, 2024, the FCC released order DA 24-1059waiving the following Rural Health Care Program (RHC) rules for participants and service providers located in areas affected by Hurricane Milton within the state of Florida:

  • Deadline for Appeals and Requests for Waiver – The FCC waives the 60-day deadlines for requests for review or waiver of decisions by USAC or the FCC and provides an additional 60 days to file appeals and waivers. This waiver is in effect for all deadlines of appeals and waiver requests from October 5, 2024, through March 8, 2025.
  • Information Requests – The FCC waives the 14-day deadline for applicants in the affected areas to respond to Information Requests from USAC related to funding requests, appeals and waivers, invoices, audits, and other documentation submitted by program participants. This waiver will apply to all Information Requests issued on or after October 5, 2024, regardless of the related funding year. The new deadline for responding to Information requests is March 8, 2025.
  • Documentation Retention and Production – Due to possible lost records, the FCC waives the rule that applicants and service providers must retain all documents for at least five years after the last day of the supported services in a given funding year. If lost records are later requested by USAC or the FCC, program participants will not be penalized, but applicants and service providers will be held responsible for obtaining such records, where available, from a third party. Program participants that are affected also must certify that the records were destroyed in the hurricane. Current rules apply to all records that were not destroyed.
  • Invoice Filing Deadline – The FCC waives the invoicing deadline for FY2023 funding requests and granted the automatic 120-day extension. Thus, for single-year funding commitments that previously had a deadline of October 28, 2024, the new deadline will be February 25, 2025.
October 8, 2024
FCC Waives Certain RHC Program Rules in Response to Hurricane Helene

On October 1, 2024, the FCC released order DA 24-1025waiving the following Rural Health Care Program rules for participants and service providers located in areas affected by Hurricane Helene within the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia:

  • Deadline for Appeals and Requests for Waiver – The FCC waives the 60-day deadlines for requests for review or waiver of decisions by USAC or the FCC and provides an additional 60 days to file appeals and waivers. This waiver is in effect for all deadlines of appeals and waiver requests from September 23, 2024, through February 28, 2025.
  • Information Requests – The FCC waives the 14-day deadline for applicants in the affected areas to respond to Information Requests from USAC related to funding requests, appeals and waivers, invoices, audits, and other documentation submitted by program participants. This waiver will apply to all Information Requests issued on or after September 23, 2024, regardless of the related funding year. The new deadline for responding to Information requests is February 28, 2025.
  • HCF Program Annual Report – The FCC waives the September 30, 2024, deadline for the affected HCF participants to file their annual reports for FY2023. Affected program participants have until February 28, 2025, to file annual reports for FY2023.
  • Documentation Retention and Production – Due to possible lost records, the FCC waives the rule that applicants and service providers must retain all documents for at least five years after the last day of the supported services in a given funding year.  If lost records are later requested by USAC or the FCC, program participants will not be penalized, but applicants and service providers will be held responsible for obtaining such records, where available, from a third party.  Program participants that are affected also must certify that the records were destroyed in the hurricane. Current rules apply to all records that were not destroyed.
  • Invoice Filing Deadline – The FCC waives the invoicing deadline for FY2023 funding requests and granted the automatic 120-day extension.   Thus, for single-year funding commitments that previously had a deadline of October 28, 2024, the new deadline will be February 25, 2025.
October 4, 2024
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: October 6, 2024

RHC Connect will be unavailable on Sunday, October 6 from 7:00 p.m.- midnight ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.

October 3, 2024
RHC Program News

View the October Newsletter

September 30, 2024
FCC Forms 460 and 465 Available in RHC Connect!

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) approval for the FCC Forms 460 and 465. These forms are now available in RHC Connect.

  • Per FCC Order 23-110, the FCC Form 460 will now be used to determine eligibility of health care provider (HCP) sites in the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program and the Telecommunications (Telecom) Program. In addition, applicants may be granted conditional eligibility, thus allowing them to initiate competitive bidding and request funding before they meet all eligibility requirements. An HCP must meet all eligibility requirements before it receives a funding commitment.
  • The FCC Form 465 will be used to request services for the Telecom Program, the same way the FCC Form 461 is used in the HCF Program. It is now available for use in RHC Connect.

Moving forward, please submit all FCC Forms 460 and 465 in RHC Connect. For forms in submitted status, once reviewed and approved, information in all forms submitted in My Portal will be migrated to RHC Connect.

Note: If you have an FCC Form 460 or 465 in submitted status, please respond quickly to any Information Requests so the application can be approved, and the information can be migrated to RHC Connect.

In addition, for the HCF Program, Letters of Agency (LOA) and Letters of Exemption (LOE) will now be submitted in RHC Connect.

For more information, please visit the following webpages on the USAC website:

September 6, 2024
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: September 6, 2024

RHC Connect will be unavailable on Friday, September 6 from 7:00 p.m.-midnight ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.

September 5, 2024
RHC Program News

View the September Newsletter

August 30, 2024
FY2023 Annual Report Due September 30!

All Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) participants receiving Rural Health Care (RHC) program funding are required to submit an annual report to USAC by September 30 following the funding year (FY) in which funding was provided. Per FCC Order 19-78, both individual and consortia applicants must submit the report to USAC using the FY2023 Annual Report Template. Applicants should email the completed template to RHC-Outreach@usac.org by the deadline. Please include the HCP number in the subject line of the email and in the file name of the template. This information will supplement information collected in HCF Program forms and includes information allowing the FCC to assess progress towards the performance goals and measures of the HCF Program. 

August 9, 2024
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: August 9, 2024

RHC Connect will be unavailable on Friday, August 9 from 7:00 p.m.-midnight ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.

August 1, 2024
RHC Program News

View the August Newsletter

July 12, 2024
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: July 14, 2024

RHC Connect will be unavailable on Sunday, July 14 from 7:00 p.m.-midnight ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.

July 3, 2024
RHC Program News

View the July Newsletter

June 17, 2024
FCC Announces Availability of Unused Funds to Fully Fund Rural Health Care Program Demand for FY2024

On June 14, 2024, the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau directed USAC to carry forward up to $161.57 million in unused funds from prior funding years to satisfy funding year (FY) 2024 demand for the Rural Health Care program. Because of this, all eligible RHC Program funding requests filed during the funding year 2024 application filing window can now be fully funded without prioritization. Please read the Public Notice for more information.

June 14, 2024
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: June 16, 2024

RHC Connect will be unavailable on Sunday, June 16 from 7:00 p.m.-midnight ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.

June 6, 2024
RHC Program News

View the June Newsletter.

June 3, 2024
Submit Your Telecommunications Program Invoice by July 1, 2024!

Per FCC Order 23-110, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established a deadline of July 1, 2024 for Telecom Program participants to submit invoices for funding years 2019 and earlier, the period during which there was no invoice filing deadline in the Telecom Program.

If you are planning to submit a disbursement request (invoice) for the remaining commitment balance(s), please submit the request(s) in My Portal by July 1, 2024.  After that date, the outstanding commitment balance will no longer be available. Unused balances for Telecom funding commitments will be de-obligated and returned to the Universal Service Fund for use in the RHC Program in accordance with the public interest.

For more information about submitting Telecom invoices, please visit the Invoice USAC webpage on the USAC website or contact the RHC Invoicing team at RHC-invoicing@usac.org. 

May 17, 2024
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: May 19, 2024

RHC Connect will be unavailable from Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. – Monday, May 20, 2024 at 1:00 a.m. ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.

May 2, 2024
RHC Program News

View the May Newsletter

May 1, 2024
FCC Released Order DA 24-366 Directing USAC to Accept Late-Filed Funding Requests

On April 18, 2024, the FCC released Order DA 24-366 waiving the application filing deadline and directing USAC to allow health care providers to submit funding requests for the RHC program for 30 days after the close of each application filing window. If the FCC grants a waiver of the application for the late-filed funding request, USAC will then process the funding request as if it had been filed prior to the end of the filing window. If the health care provider does not request a waiver for a late-filed funding request or if the FCC denies the waiver, USAC will dismiss the funding request.

All announcements can be found in the Announcements Archive.

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