September 28, 2023
Don’t Miss Your RHC Program Invoice Filing Deadline!
Per FCC Order 19-78, the deadline for applicants and service providers in the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) and the Telecommunications (Telecom) Programs to submit the FCC Form 463 and the Telecom Invoice is 120 days after June 30, 2023, the service delivery deadline for FY2022. The invoice filing deadline for Funding Year (FY) 2022 Telecom Program commitments and single year FY2022 HCF Program commitments is October 28, 2023. The invoice filing deadline for prior year multi-year commitments, for the HCF Program, may also be October 28, 2023.
Applicants and service providers may request and receive a one-time 120-day extension to the invoice filing deadline. The one-time extension must be requested on or prior to October 28, 2023.
For more information for the HCF program, please visit the Post-Commitment Actions webpage on the USAC website. For the Telecom program, please submit your invoice filing deadline request to the invoicing team at RHC-Invoicing@usac.org.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have submitted a post-commitment change request in RHC Connect, please log into RHC Connect and request an invoice filing deadline extension. We have received a high volume of these requests and may not complete the review prior to October 28.
Unsure of your invoicing deadline?
The invoice filing deadline is included in the funding commitment letter (FCL), which USAC sends via email after processing the FCC Form 462 (Funding Request Form for HCF) or FCC Form 466 (Funding Request Form for Telecom). You can look up your invoice filing deadline using the RHC Invoicing Deadline Tool on the Open Data platform.
For more information, please use the following online resources:
September 1, 2023
Hurricane Idalia Response
On September 1, 2023, the FCC released Order DA 23-805, waiving certain RHC rules and deadlines to assist participants and providers located in areas affected by the Hurricane Idalia. This Order applies to healthcare providers and service providers located in the areas in Florida and South Carolina that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has designated as eligible for Individual or Public Assistance for the purposes of federal disaster relief as of the release date of this Order. FCC waives the following rules on a temporary basis:
- Automatically provides affected program participants with an additional 150 days to file appeals and waivers. This waiver will be in effect for all deadlines of appeals and waiver requests from August 27, 2023, through 150 calendar days from the release of this Order (January 29, 2024).
- Waives the 14-day Information Request deadline for Information Requests related to funding requests, appeals and waivers, invoices, audits, and other documentation and applies to all funding years for all Information Requests that had a deadline on or after August 27, 2023, regardless of the funding year. Affected health care providers and service providers have up to 150 calendar days from the effective date of this Order (January 29, 2024) to respond to Information Requests from USAC.
- Waives the invoice filing deadline for FY2022 funding requests and grants an automatic 120-day extension; and
- Waives the September 30, 2023, deadline for Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) program annual reports. HCF program participants will have up to 150 calendar days from the effective date of this order (January 29, 2024) to submit annual reports.
Impacted program participants will not be penalized for failure to retain records destroyed by the Hurricane Idalia. For more information, read FCC Order DA 23-805.
August 31, 2023
FY2022 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 in which funding was provided. Per FCC Order 19-78, both individual and consortia applicants must submit the report to USAC using the FY2022 Annual Report Template. Applicants should email the completed template to RHC-Outreach@usac.org by the deadline. Please include the HCP name and 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 18, 2023
Hawaii Wildfires Response
On August 18, 2023, the FCC released Order DA 23-723, waiving certain Affordable Connectivity Program, Lifeline, E-Rate, Emergency Connectivity Fund, Rural Health Care, High Cost and Universal Service Fund contributors rules and deadlines to assist program participants and providers located in the State of Hawaii in areas affected by the wildfires. To learn more, see Order DA 23-723.
