As part of the CARES Act, the FCC’s https://www.fcc.gov/coronavirus new $200 Million “COVID-19 Telehealth Program” will provide immediate support to healthcare facilities and patients across the country. The separate Connected Care Pilot Program will study the long-term role for telehealth.
The COVID-19 Telehealth Program will provide eligible healthcare providers support to purchase telecommunications services, information services, and devices necessary to enable telehealth services to be used during this emergency period.
The program will be able to provide selected applicants with funding for eligible telehealth services and devices. In order to receive funding, eligible healthcare providers would need to submit a streamlined application to the FCC for the program and FCC would then award funds to selected applicants on a rolling basis until the funds are exhausted or until the pandemic has ended.
In addition, the FCC Chairman has presented final rules to stand up a broader, longer term “Connected Care Pilot Program”. The program would target funding to eligible healthcare providers primarily focused on pilot projects that would primarily benefit low-income veteran patients.
The Connected Care Pilot Program would make available up to $100 million, which would be separate from the budget of the Universal Service Fund and the COVID-19 Telehealth program. The Pilot Program would provide funding for selected pilot projects to cover 85% of the eligible costs of broadband connectivity, network equipment, and information services in order to connect care services to the intended patient population.
For more information, go to https://www.fcc.gov/coronavirus or go to https://www.fcc.gov/keep-americans-connected.