FCC Announces Availability of Unused Funds to Increase Rural Health Care Program Funding for FY 2019

In June 2018, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to address increasing demand in the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program. Specifically, the FCC: (1) increased the annual RHC Program funding cap; (2) provided for the annual RHC Program funding cap to be adjusted for inflation; and (3) established a process to carry-forward unused funds from past funding years for use in future funding years. The FCC also directed the Wireline Competition Bureau to announce a specific amount of unused funds from prior funding years to be carried forward to increase available funding for future funding years. The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) projects that, as of the third quarter of this calendar year, $83.22 million in unused funds is available for use in future funding years beginning in funding year (FY) 2019. The FCC now directs USAC to carry-forward unused funds from prior funding years to the extent necessary to cover FY 2019 RHC Program demand as of the close of the FY 2019 filing window on June 30, 2019.6