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UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND - RURAL HEALTH CARE is sponsored by FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. The Rural Health Care Program, one of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund programs, provides funding to eligible health care providers for telecommunications and broadband services necessary for the provision of health care.
The goal of the program is to improve the quality of health care available to patients in rural communities by ensuring that eligible health care providers have access to telecommunications and broadband services. The Rural Health Care Program is currently made up of two programs: the Telecommunications Program and the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program.
The Telecommunications Program, established in 1997, subsidizes the difference between urban and rural rates for telecommunications services. Under the Telecommunications Program, eligible rural health care providers can obtain rates on telecommunications services in rural areas that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in corresponding urban areas.
The HCF Program, established in 2012, promotes the use of broadband services and facilitates the formation of health care provider consortia that include both rural and urban health care providers by providing a flat 65% discount on an array of advanced telecommunications and information services. These services include internet access, dark fiber, business data, traditional digital service line (DSL), and private carriage services.
Universal service has been defined by Congress as “an evolving level of telecommunications services . . .
taking into account advances in telecommunications and information technologies and services. ” This listing is currently active. Program number: 32.
005. Last updated on 2024-11-15.
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Or search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Eligible health care providers include: (1) post-secondary educational institutions offering health care instruction, including 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 42 USC § 1395i-3(a)) 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. Eligible applicant types include: Private nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Quasi-public nonprofit institution/organization, Native American Organizations (includes lndian groups, cooperatives, corporations, partnerships, associations), Federally Recognized lndian Tribal Governments, U.S. Territories and possessions (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Public nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), State (includes District of Columbia, public institutions of higher education and hospitals), Government - General. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows recent federal obligations suggest $820,000,000 (2025). Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Yes — UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND - RURAL HEALTH CARE is offered by FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION and this listing comes from SAM.gov, an official U.S. federal source. Federal applications generally require registrations (for example SAM.gov or an agency submission portal), so allow extra lead time.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
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