Lifeline/Low-Income Consumers

The Federal Communications Commission published its new rule for its Lifeline program making January 27, 2020 the date the changes will go into effect. The changes include:

A soft launch of the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier begins Friday, December 20, 2019 in California, Oregon, and Texas. Unlike all other states, territories, and the District of Columbia, these three states operate their own comprehensive systems, in place of the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD). As a result, the Lifeline program continues to rely on these states’ systems for eliminating duplicative Lifeline support. Similarly, each of these states has its own system in place to determine subscriber eligibility for the federal Lifeline program in addition to its own s

National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier launches in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington. Starting on January 22, 2020, eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) in these nine states will be required to use the National Verifier’s eligibility determination process for all consumers applying for Lifeline service and must cease using legacy eligibility processes for prospective Lifeline subscribers.

On Aug 2, Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Mike Doyle (D-PA), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Marc Veasey (D-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) wrote to the Federal Communications Commission to urge the agency delay any future hard launch of the Lifeline National Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier) in a state until the FCC establishes connections to Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) databases for Lifeline eligibility verification in that state.

The Federal Communications Commission launched an electronic interface that participating Lifeline program carriers can use when verifying a potential subscriber’s eligibility for the program. The application programming interface, or API, connects carriers’ systems to the Lifeline program’s National Eligibility Verifier. The API will enable carriers to send applicant information directly to the National Verifier for an eligibility check, thereby reducing the paperwork required from potential subscribers.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier) will soft launch on December 16, 2019 in Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The soft launch period will allow eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) to become familiar with the National Verifier and adjust and test their systems and business processes before use of the National Verifier becomes mandatory. During the soft launch, only ETCs will have access to the National Verifier.

Sprint has for years failed to accurately measure how many of the low-income Americans it serves through the federal Lifeline program actually use their phones. The company is facing a potential settlement with the Federal Communications Commission after the regulator in September said Sprint improperly collected “tens of millions” of dollars in federal subsidies for 885,000 Lifeline customers who weren’t using the service.

For anyone who is pregnant, having a hospital delivery room nearby means knowing that when the baby arrives medical assistance will be close at hand. But for too many of those in rural America, this comfort is often no longer available—and it is putting both women and babies at risk. In fact, the United States is the only industrialized nation with an increasing rate of maternal mortality and this problem hits women of color especially hard. The Federal Communications Commission has a long history of working to promote access to telehealth in rural communities.