New funding is available to help rural skilled nursing organizations reduce their costs of telecommunications and broadband. This past summer, Congress passed legislation that makes skilled nursing organizations eligible to receive funding in addition to other eligible entity types. These programs provide up to $400 million annually in reduced rates for broadband and telecommunications services for eligible health care providers.
The funding is designed to reduce costs of connectivity to help providers expand their reach through telemedicine, increase efficiency by exchanging medical records and sharing information faster using HIT, and improve patient access. Health care providers eligible for support through the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program can receive a 65 percent discount on broadband expenses, including equipment. Eligible providers include nonprofit skilled nursing organizations located in rural area.
The HCF Program also encourages networks of health care providers (both rural and urban) to form state and regional health care consortia to save costs and expand access to health care. The Telecommunications Program helps ensure that eligible rural health care providers can obtain telecommunications services at rates comparable to urban providers by providing urban/rural difference discounts for eligible telecommunications services. Eligible providers include nonprofit skilled nursing organizations located in a rural area. Additional resources and training on the programs are available here.
The funding is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and the initial funding request window for this fiscal year is March 1 – June 1, 2017.
