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Supplement, Fall 1997 HITN Broadcast on Universal Service Funding

A panel discussion regarding the FCC-sponsored Universal Service Discounts for rural health care providers was broadcast November 19th via the Health Informatics Television Network.

The panel was moderated by Dena Puskin, Acting Director of the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and featured a telemedicine project director, a representative of US West, and an official from the FCC. Some highlights:

• It is estimated that at least 12,000 rural health care providers are eligible for these discounts.
• Eligibility requirements are that health care providers be 1) not-for-profit or public, and 2) rural (using OMB's definition of non-metropolitan counties or rural pockets of metropolitan counties).
• "Health care provider" includes post-secondary educational institutions offering health care instruction, teaching hospitals, community health centers or health centers providing care to migrants, local health departments or agencies, community mental health centers, not-for-profit hospitals, rural health clinics, and consortia of health care providers consisting of one or more of these entities.
• Discounts on telecommunications services can range up to the cost of a T1 line from the provider to the nearest city of 50,000 or more; if dial up rather than a dedicated circuit is preferable, then up to $180/month to cover toll charges is available.
• The Rural Health Care Corp. is now being organized to administer these discounts.
• Application forms are being reviewed by the FCC; when they are approved, requests for discounts will be accepted as soon as the RHCC web site is operational.
• The FCC will issue a Public Notice, and other means, to alert all parties when the application process will begin.
• Applications will be posted on the RHCC web site for 28 days; telecommunications vendors can bid on the projects and the provider can select the most appropriate bid.
• A 75-day filing window has been established to prevent a filing rush and incomplete applications: once applications are accepted, all those received within 75 days will be treated as being received simultaneously.

Perhaps the most pertinent take-home message is to watch the following web sites for announcements:

http://www.fcc.gov/healthnet/

http://www.neca.org/funds.htm

Thanks to funding and arrangements by the IAIMS and Regional Telemedicine Projects at the University of Washington, the Health Informatics Television Network satellite broadcast on the FCC-sponsored Universal Service Discounts for rural health care providers was received at a studio at the University of Washington. A video tape of the November 19th broadcast is available for loan to NN/LM PNR network members and other regional constituents by request. To request the tape, send an e-mail message to <nnlm@u.washington.edu>.

URL: http://nnlm.gov/pnr/supp/9710/ufs.html