Connected Care Pilot Program

Objective

Telehealth has assumed a critical role in health care delivery as technology and improved broadband connectivity have enabled patients to access health care services without needing to visit a health care provider’s physical location. Advances in telehealth are transforming health care from a service delivered through traditional brick and mortar health care facilities to connected care options delivered via a broadband Internet access connection directly to the patient’s home or mobile location. Despite the numerous benefits of connected care services, patients who cannot afford or who otherwise lack reliable, robust broadband Internet access connectivity, including many low-income Americans and veterans, are not realizing the benefits of these innovative telehealth technologies. The costs necessary to provide connected care services may also limit some health care providers’ ability to treat patients, particularly low-income Americans and veterans, with connected care services. To address this, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) established the Connected Care Pilot Program (Pilot Program) within the Universal Service Fund (USF or Fund) to provide funding up to $100 million over three years and to examine how the Fund can help support the trend towards connected care services, particularly for low-income Americans and veterans. The Pilot Program was set up to help defray eligible health care providers’ costs of providing connected care services, with a particular emphasis on supporting these services for eligible low-income Americans and veterans. The Commission expects that the Pilot Program will benefit many low-income and veteran patients who are responding to a wide variety of health challenges such as public health epidemics, opioid dependency, mental health conditions, high-risk pregnancy, and chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, and heart disease. The Commission also expects that the Pilot Program will provide meaningful data that will help better understand how USF funds can support health care provider and patient use of connected care services, and how supporting health care provider and patient use of connected care services can improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs.

Who Can Apply

• Public nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals)
• Private nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals)

Eligible health care providers include: (1) post-secondary educational institutions offering health care instruction, teaching hospitals, and medical schools; (2) community health centers or health centers providing health care to migrants; (3) local health departments or agencies; (4) community mental health centers; (5) not-for-profit hospitals; (6) rural health clinics; (7) skilled nursing facilities (as defined in section 395i–3(a) of title 42) and (8) consortium of health care providers consisting of one or more entities falling into the first seven categories. In addition, eligible health care providers must be non-profit or public.

Who Benefits

The Commission will have a strong preference for pilot projects that can demonstrate that they will primarily benefit low-income individuals or veterans. For purposes of the Pilot Program, health care providers can determine whether a patient is considered low-income by determining whether (1) the patient is eligible for Medicaid or (2) the patient’s household income is at or below 135% of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Poverty Guidelines. Health care providers may determine whether a patient qualifies as a veteran for purposes of the Pilot Program by confirming that the patient qualifies for health care through the VA. The Commission expects that pilot projects focused on serving veterans will primarily focus on veteran populations that are more likely to experience issues accessing health care.

Assistance Types

• Direct Payments for Specified Use

Program Contact

ConnectedCare@fcc.gov
202-418-7400