Announcements
April 24, 2026
FCC Waives Certain RHC Program Rules in Response to Typhoon Sinlaku
On April 23, 2026, the FCC released order DA 26-396 waiving the following Rural Health Care Program (RHC) rules for participants and service providers located in areas affected by Typhoon Sinlaku:
- 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 April 12, 2026, through September 21, 2026.
- 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 April 12, 2026, regardless of the related funding year. The new deadline for responding to Information requests is September 21, 2026.
- 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 typhoon. Current rules apply to all records that were not destroyed.
- Invoice Filing Deadline – The FCC waives the invoicing deadline for FY2025 funding requests and grants the automatic 120-day extension. Thus, for single-year funding commitments that previously had a deadline of October 28, 2026, the new deadline will be February 25, 2027.
April 24, 2026
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Maintenance: April 26, 2026
RHC Connect will be unavailable on Sunday, April 26, 2026, from 7 p.m. until midnight 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 20, 2026
RHC Program News
View the April 2026 newsletter.
April 17, 2026
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: April 17, 2026
RHC Connect may be unavailable on Friday, April 17, 2026, from 7:00 p.m.- midnight ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users may be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.
For more information, visit the RHC Connect Updates webpage.
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.
March 20, 2026
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 20, 2026
RHC Connect Outage Due to System Upgrade: March 20, 2026
RHC Connect may be unavailable on Friday, March 20, 2026, from 7:00 p.m.- midnight ET due to a scheduled system upgrade. During this time, users may be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.
March 10, 2026
RHC Program News
View the March 2026 Newsletter.
February 23, 2026
SAM.gov UEI Requirement
Beginning August 2026, USAC will begin using SAM.gov banking information to remit payment for all Universal Service Fund (USF) invoices. All service providers must have an active SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) on their FCC Form 498 and must have a valid bank account associated with their UEI. For more information, see the SAM.gov UEI Requirement webpage.
February 10, 2026
RHC Program News
View the February 2026 Newsletter.
January 13, 2026
RHC Program News
View the January 2026 Newsletter.
December 19, 2025
RHC Program News
View the RHC December Newsletter.
December 1, 2025
Submit your FY2026 Funding Requests Now!
The Funding Year (FY) 2026 filing window opened today, on December 1, 2025. Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program applicants and Telecommunications (Telecom) Program applicants can now submit funding requests in RHC Connect using the FCC Form 462 and the FCC Form 466. The filing window closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 1, 2026. We encourage all applicants to submit their funding requests as early as possible during the filing window.
Here are some resources to assist you during the submission process:
- HCF and Telecom Program Funding Request Webinars
- Funding Year Overview
- Examples of Common Products and Services – HCF Program
- Examples of Common Services – Telecom Program
- Urban and Rural Rate Information FY2026 – Telecom Program
- Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 466 – Telecom Program
- Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 462 – HCF Program
November 19, 2025
Update: FY2026 Telecom Program Rural Rates
On November 18, 2025, the FCC released order DA 25-954. This order waives the FCC’s rules to permit the use of previously approved rural rates from funding years (FY) 2023-2025 for funding year 2026 that would otherwise require approval of a cost-based justification For FY2026. Rural rates for the Telecommunications (Telecom) Program should be calculated using Method 1, or, if you cannot satisfy the requirements, then Method 2. If neither of these methods is feasible, then you must use Method 3.Â
For more information, read FCC Order DA 25-954. Please use the FY2026 Rural and Urban rate tip sheet as a resource.