Rural Health Care Outreach Conference Call Minutes
Thursday, July 11, 2002

On May 15th, the FCC published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Rural Health Care Support Mechanism. Comments were due on July 1. Rural Health Care Division Vice President Mel Blackwell summarized the comments, which are publicly available on the FCC's website. On the whole, commentors generally seemed to be in favor of:

· The ability to select urban rates from anywhere in their state for support calculations
· Expanding the definition of "health care provider" to include nursing homes and long-term care
· Including Internet monthly charges as a supportable service
· Eliminating or expanding the Maximum Allowed Distance, or MAD
· Streamlining the application process
· Allowing insular territories to receive support to connect to other states
· Encouraging partnerships between rural health care providers and schools and libraries
· Reevaluating the definition of "rural" for purposes of determining eligibility

Reply comments should be submitted to the FCC by July 29. It is anticipated that changes to the Rural Health Care Support Mechanism will take effect in Funding Year 2003 (July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004), however, the timing is dependent on when the FCC issues an Order as a result of the NPRM.

RHCD would like to reiterate that the deadline for FCC Form 466/468 "packets" for Funding Year 2001 (July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002) was not on July 1, as many people have believed. Applicants are urged to submit their packets as soon as possible, but the deadline will be in early fall of this year.

For Funding Year 2001, RHCD has committed $13.5 million in support to 447 HCPs. Of these, 276 have submitted their FCC Form 467s and received support schedules totaling $4.9 million in support. RHCD has issued $2 million in invoices. Service providers are reminded that they must credit the health care provider first before invoicing USAC.

Applicants who receive their Funding Commitment Letters are urged to take the opportunity to enable electronic certification for their HCP numbers, since receiving an FCL for FY 2001 meets the eligibility requirement for participation in e-certification. Electronic certification will allow you to electronically sign and submit both FCC Form 465 and 467.

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