FCC Announces 13th Set of COVID-19 Telehealh Program Awards

The Federal Communications Commission has released what may be its next-to-last list of providers qualifying for funds from the COVID-19 Telehealth Program.

The list – the 13^th announcement since the fund was created through the CARES Act in April – features 70 providers and $31.63 million in funding for telehealth and mHealth programs aimed at addressing access to care during the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the FCC has approved 514 funding applications from providers in 46 states and Washington DC, amounting to $189.27 million in funding.

The agency announced last week that it has stopped accepting applications for funding, and expects to run out of money this month. With this latest announcement, only $10.73 million remains in the $200 million program.

FCC officials had said they expect to issue weekly lists until the fund runs out, so next week’s list may very well be the last.

Among those approved for funding in the latest list are the Children’s Mobile Health Clinic in New York City; the South Dakota-based Avera Health network; Boston Children’s Hospital; the Texas-based CHRISTUS Health system; Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, NY; Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley Health Network; the Long Island FQHC in Westbury, NY; Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx; the Spectrum Health System in Michigan; Baltimore’s T.I.M.E Organization; the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital; and the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis.

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