Yesterday the FCC announced changes to their universal service program for health care. The current healthcare funding rules have reigned since the 1996 Telecommunications Act. In 2006, the FCC started to look into changes that might improve funding. They tried a few pilot projects, investigated the impact and released a report last summer and again announced changes based on the research this week…
Informed by these and other success stories, the new Healthcare Connect Fund will help expand access by health care providers to the high-bandwidth connections they need for modern telemedicine by:
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Removing artificial limitations on technology and provider type that hampered legacy universal service health care support
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Encouraging consortia between smaller rural health care providers and urban medical centers to enable remote hospitals and clinics to draw on the medical, technical and administrative resources of larger providers
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Increasing fiscal responsibility by requiring participants to contribute 35% of the costs, while affording health care providers access to lower rates through group buying
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Supporting broadband services purchased from diverse communications providers, while also allowing health care providers to construct new broadband networks when that is the most cost-effective option
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Covering upgrades to higher speed service required for health care applications
In addition, the reforms establish a new competitive Pilot Program to test expanding broadband healthcare networks to skilled nursing facilities. Because these facilities are often remote from doctors and sophisticated lab and testing facilities, frail and convalescing patients will benefit greatly from broadband services that can reduce the time, expense and stress of travelling to receive medical care. Up to $50 million over three years will be available from the Fund for these competitively-awarded Pilots.
Seems like good news, especially for rural areas. Seems like some opportunities for potential funding. Would be nice to see some of it come into Minnesota. (The Greater Minnesota Telehealth Broadband Initiative is one Minnesota-based project that received early funding – and it’s still active.)