How telehealth could offset the cost of the Affordable Connectivity Program

We’re creeping closer to the one-year mark since the federal government axed the Affordable Connectivity Program due to lack of funding, which left over 23 million low-income households without affordable internet. But folks didn’t just lose the $30/month subsidy and a reliable broadband connection. A new study from the Brattle Group found healthcare and workforce opportunities—and the economic impact associated with both—are also down the drain without the ACP. Should the program return, it can potentially save up to $29.5 billion in annual healthcare costs by improving access to telehealth, said the Brattle Group. The firm noted since ACP had a “modest annual cost” of $7.3 billion, the healthcare savings could “more than offset the costs of the entire program if it were reinstated.”