FCC Announces Latest Awards From COVID-19 Telehealth Program

More than 70 healthcare organizations will received federal funds for new connected health projects through the Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program.

The FCC this week announced a second round of approved applications for the program, which was relaunched this year after a successful run in 2020. The latest round of 72 awards accounts for more than $41 million in funding, following nearly $42 million in awards announced in August for 62 healthcare organizations.

“The FCC has now approved a total of over $83 million in funding applications for Round 2 of its COVID-19 Telehealth Program,” Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a press release. “From community health clinics in urban city centers to hospitals serving rural communities across the country, these funds will support efforts to help our neighbors remain in the care of their doctors, nurses, physician assistants and trusted health care providers during this pandemic.”

Last year the FCC used its entire allotment of $200 million to provide assistance to 539 projects across the country. This led lawmakers to budget almost $250 million in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 to keep the program going. They also asked the FCC to tweak the program to provide more clarity into how projects are selected for funding, and to change the process to spread out the money and give more projects a chance for funding.

This first round of projects announced this year represented the highest-scoring applications from each state and territory, as well as the District of Columbia, under a new rating system created in the wake of last year’s program. This latest round features the highest-scoring applications no matter where they’re located.

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau will now give the remaining applicants an opportunity to revise their proposals before disbursing the roughly $166 million left in the budget.

The money is designated for “telecommunications services, information services and connected devices necessary to enable telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The COVID-19 Telehealth Program isn’t a grant program, but a reimbursement program. To receive disbursements, healthcare providers are required to submit an invoicing form and supporting documentation to receive reimbursement for eligible telemedicine and mHealth expenses and services.

The announcement comes roughly two months after the FCC announced 36 award recipients for its $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program, a similar effort to expand telehealth and remote patient monitoring access to underserved populations, including veterans and those is rural areas. To date, 59 programs have been approved to receive about $57 million in funding.

A list of the projects funded in the latest round can be found here.