July 31, 2026
RHC Disbursements Will Be Issued August 11th
Please be advised that USAC will be issuing the first August disbursement to RHC participants on August 11th, instead of the expected disbursement date of August 6th. We apologize for the delay. USAC is undergoing a system transition and upgrade in early August, during which we will be unable to disburse funds. The full transition will be completed on August 10th, and RHC participants will receive their disbursements on August 11th. We do not anticipate any changes to the August 20th disbursement date.
If you have any questions, please reach out to the RHC Customer Service Center at RHC-Assist@usac.org.
July 23, 2026
RHC Connect Updates
RHC is committed to continually improving the stakeholder experience in RHC Connect. Please visit  the RHC Connect Updates webpage to see the details of system enhancements that will be deployed July 24, 2026. Please send comments and feedback to the RHC outreach team at RHC-Outreach@usac.org.
July 17, 2026
RHC Connect System Maintenance: July 19, 2026
USAC will be performing system maintenance in RHC Connect on Sunday, July 19, 2026, from 7:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m. ET. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use RHC Connect. Once maintenance is complete, users will not experience any changes to RHC Connect. We apologize for any inconvenience.
July 8, 2026
FCC Waives Certain RHC Program Rules in Response to Super Typhoon Bavi
On July 8, 2026, the FCC released order DA 26-685 waiving the following Rural Health Care Program (RHC) rules for participants and service providers located in areas affected by Super Typhoon Bavi:
- 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 July 2, 2026, through December 5, 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 July 2, 2026, regardless of the related funding year. The new deadline for responding to Information requests is December 8, 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.
