Low Income
About Low Income:
- Overview of the Program
- Overview of the Process
- Individual Outreach
- Understanding Audits
- Filing Appeals
- HCLI Training Events
- Video Tutorials
Low Income Tools:
Latest News / Important Notices / Alerts
Below are current news announcements relevant to the Low Income Program. You can access previous announcements by clicking the latest news archive.
USAC Launches its Payment Quality Assurance (PQA) Program
In August 2010, USAC rolled out its Payment Quality Assurance (PQA) Program. The PQA Program enables USAC to provide accurate, timely information about improper payments to the FCC, as required by the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA). Under this program, USAC assesses specific payments made to beneficiaries in all four USF programs (Schools and Libraries, High Cost, Low Income, and Rural Health Care) to determine if these payments were made in accordance with program rules. Using results of these assessments, USAC calculates estimates of improper payment rates across entire USF programs and provides this information to the FCC.
For more information about the PQA Program and to obtain specific PQA document requirements, please click here. For a list of FAQs that provide information about the program, what to do if you are selected, and how/when to submit documents, click here.
Update your Form 498 with electronic banking information to ensure continued timely USF disbursements!
REMINDER! Beginning August 31, USAC will withhold support payments to any entity that has not provided electronic banking information. If your company does not have electronic banking information on its FCC Form 498 for each of the programs in which it participates, you may not receive your USF disbursements! Banking information must be received in advance of August 31st, so make Form 498 updates using USAC's E-File System right away!
Note: E-File updates your information immediately, while paper forms take longer to process. Forms mailed too close to August 31st may not be processed by the deadline. USAC suggests using E-File.
USAC encourages Service Providers who have provided banking information in the past to log onto E-file regularly to confirm that information is accurate and up to date.
The HHS Poverty Guidelines for the Remainder of 2010
Legislation enacted in late 2009 and early 2010 prohibited publication of 2010 poverty guidelines before May 31, 2010, and required that the 2009 poverty guidelines remain in effect until publication of updated guidelines. Legislation to further delay publication of the 2010 guidelines did not pass. The procedure for updating the 2010 guidelines was modified to take into account the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for the period for which their publication was delayed. As a result, the 2009 poverty guideline figures will remain in effect for the remainder of 2010.
For more information on the 2009 poverty guideline extension, please visit The Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) webpage on poverty guidelines at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/POVERTY/10poverty.shtml
USAC has published new Low Income poverty guidelines. Click here to view the current USAC poverty guidelines.
Public Notice: Annual Verification Survey and Certification
The FCC released a Public Notice reminding ETCS that the deadline for submitting the Annual Certification and Verification Letter is August 31, 2010, and August 31st each subsequent year. The Public Notice includes Frequently Asked Questions and, for companies that must follow the federal verification procedures, instructions for calculating a statistically valid sample.
High Cost and Low Income Trainings in Seattle, Chicago, and Orlando
Extension of the 2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) Until at Least May 31, 2010
Congress has taken action to keep the 2009 poverty guidelines in effect until at least May 31, 2010.
Congressional actions on this matter have been in response to a decrease in the annual average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for 2009, projected during 2009 and announced on January 15, 2010 (see http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_01152010.pdf, Table 1A). In the absence of legislative change, this decrease – the first since the poverty guidelines began to be issued in 1965 – would have required HHS to issue 2010 poverty guidelines that were lower than the 2009 poverty guidelines.
For more information on the 2009 poverty guideline extension, please visit The Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) webpage on poverty guidelines at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/POVERTY/09extension.shtml.
USAC will publish new Low Income poverty guidelines once the new DHHS FPG becomes available. To view the current USAC poverty guidelines go to: Income_Requirements.pdf.
