FCC Awarding $250M in COVID-19 Telehealth Program Funding

The window to file for funding opens April 29, 2021 at 12:00PM EST and only lasts 7 calendar days. Be sure to submit your filing by Thursday May 6, 2021 at 12:00PM EST.


If your organization is interested in launching or expanding a remote patient monitoring or Telehealth program, please follow the information below to begin filing for funding.

Who?

This funding program is open to non-profit and public health care providers locate in rural and non-rural areas. Any applicants from Round 1 in 2020 who received funding are still eligible for Round 2 funding. Each applicant had a $1M cap in funding.

Eligible institutions include

  • Post-secondary educational institutions offering health care instruction, teaching hospitals,
  • medical schools;
  • Community health centers or health centers providing health care to migrants;
  • Local health departments or agencies;
  • Community mental health centers;
  • Not-for-profit hospitals;
  • Rural health clinics; 
  • Consortia of health care providers consisting of one or more entities described above.

What?

In 2020, Congress appropriated $200M through the CARES Act to launch the COVID-19 Telehealth program, bringing 539 applicants funding for connected care services.

In December of 2020, Congress approved $249.95M for Round 2 of funding for COVID-19 Telehealth programs through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The FCC unanimously approved the process for distributing the funding on March 30, 2021.

Mobility Exchange has an extensive history helping organizations small and large with telehealth and remote patient monitoring. Throughout COVID-19, we have been able to assist in monitoring patients at home to avoid emergency rooms, decrease hospital readmission rates, screen for COVID-19, reduce or eliminate barriers in access to care for rural residents, educate patients on maintaining good personal health, enable telehealth visits, capture biometric readings, capture information from health surveys, schedule medication and appointment reminders and improve the overall health of the population.

When:

The window to file for Round 2 of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program opens Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET and will last seven calendar days, closing Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET.

All applications will be reviewed at the close of the application window on Thursday May 6, 2021.

Steps:

To apply for funding, follow the instructions below:

  • Visit : https://www.usac.org/rural-health-care/resources/forms/ to obtain an eligibility and registration form (FCC Form 460). For any questions directly related to the form, contact USAC via telephone at (800) 453-1546 or via email at: RHC-Assist@usac.org.
  • Any applicant doing business with the Commission must register to obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN) in the Commission Registration System (CORES). An FRN is a 10-digit number that is assigned to a business or individual registering with the FCC. This unique FRN is used to identify the registrant’s business dealings with the FCC. Organizations may register using the following link: https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do.
  • Register with (SAM) System for Award Management to receive payment. Applicants are strongly encouraged to start this process as early as submitting their application. Only applicants registered through the System for Award Management will be able to receive Program funding.

To register with the system, go to https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ with the following information:

(1) DUNS number;

(2) Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employment Identification Number (EIN); and

(3) Your bank’s routing number, your bank account number, and your bank account type, i.e. checking or savings, to set up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

 

 Qualifying Services:

  • Remote Patient Monitoring Platforms and Services
  • Patient Reported Outcome Platforms
  • Store and Forward Services
  • Video Consultation Platforms
  • Connected devices (tablets, smart phones or connected devices to provide telehealth services)
  • Telemedicine kiosks/carts for health care provider site