Telehealth

The Federal Communications Commission approved an additional 13 funding applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Health care providers in both urban and rural areas of the country will use this $4.2 million in funding to provide telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program has funded 30 health care providers in 16 states for a total of $13.7 million in funding.

The Federal Communications Commission approved an additional six funding applications, totaling $2.56 million, for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. To date, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program has funded 17 health care providers in 10 states for a total of $9.5 million in funding. Below is a list of health care providers that were awarded funding:

Here are five ideas about what the Federal Communications Commission can do, right now, to keep us as a country moving forward:

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded nearly $165 million to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in rural communities. These investments will support 1,779 small rural hospitals and provide additional funding to 14 HRSA-funded Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs) to provide technical assistance on telehealth to help rural and underserved areas combat COVID-19. 

The Federal Communications Commission approved an additional five funding applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Health care providers in some of the hardest hit areas like New York and Michigan will use this $3.71 million in funding to provide telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic:

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will use the $100 million provided for the ReConnect Program in the CARES Act to invest in qualified 100 percent grant projects that did not receive funding in the program’s first round of ReConnect Program investments. Round one applicants who did not receive funding because there was broadband access in the proposed service area may submit an application during the second round to receive this priority as long as their proposed service area meets the requirements of the ReConnect Round 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement.

The Federal Communications Commission approved six funding applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Health care providers in some of the hardest hit areas like New York will use this $3.23 million in funding to provide telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the recently-enacted CARES Act, Congress appropriated $200 million for the FCC to support health care providers’ use of telehealth services during this national emergency.

The industry's pre-coronavirus agenda isn't vanishing — but its priorities have already been reshuffled. These agenda items have jumped to the top of the list: 1) Transforming healthcare, 2) Distance learning and the digital divide, 3) Network bandwidth and resilience, and 4) Misinformation and media polarization.