FCC Awards More Telehealth Funds, Amid Questions Over Disbursement

The Federal Communications Commission has approved funding from the COVID-19 Telehealth Program for an additional 43 healthcare providers, though some lawmakers are questioning when any of those providers will get the money.

The latest group of award recipients – the seventh such group – brings the total to 132 providers in 33 states and Washington DC. To date, the FCC has earmarked a little more than $50 million from the $200 billion fund in roughly one month.

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At the same time, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was grilled during a Capitol Hill hearing this week over whether that money has been disbursed.

“How long is it going to take for the health care providers to actually get their checks?” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, asked Pai during the May 19 hearing, which was covered by Politico. Eshoo added she’d heard “there are major problems in getting the money out the door.”

Pai, who noted that the COVID-19 Telehealth Program was “a big priority for the commission” in prepared remarks, told the subcommittee that only one provider had so far presented a certified invoice required by the FCC for the award money.

“We will continue to process those as they come in,” he told Eshoo.

The COVID-19 Telehealth Program is not a grant program. To receive disbursements, healthcare providers will be required to submit an invoicing form and supporting documentation to receive reimbursement for eligible expenses and services.

A full list of the latest award winners can be found here.