Rural Health Care
About Rural Health Care:
- Overview of the Program
- Overview of the Process
- Monthly Conference Calls
- Site Visits
- Understanding Audits
- Filing Appeals
- Rural Health Care Pilot Program
Rural Health Care Tools:
Overview of the Rural Health Care Program
The Rural Health Care Program of the Universal Service Fund (USF), which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), is a support program authorized by Congress and designed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide reduced rates to rural health care providers (HCPs) for telecommunications services and Internet access charges related to the use of telemedicine & tele-health.
What does it mean to health care providers?
Support is available for telecommunications services and monthly Internet access charges used for the provision of health care. Support is also available for limited long-distance charges for accessing the Internet. The level of support depends on the location and the type of services chosen and is calculated individually for each health care provider. A health care provider can save on services it already has, upgrade current services, or install new services.
How does a health care provider determine its needs?
A health care provider should assess its situation to determine its needs. How will telecommunications or Internet services be used? Is there a need to transmit data, images, or interactive video? With whom does the health care provider want to communicate most frequently? Contact the telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers serving the area to determine needs and to learn about available services.
