Rural Health Care Outreach Conference Call Minutes
Thursday, November 14, 2002

The Rural Health Care Division had previously announced that it anticipated a new Order from the FCC in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the first quarter of 2003. RHCD now anticipates that response in the second quarter of 2003. The opening of the filing window for Funding Year 2004 is expected for March 2003, before the FCC's Order is released. Program changes from the Order will not be in effect for the window opening; however, RHCD is implementing several administrative changes that will appear in March:

• Based upon feedback from applicants and service providers, RHCD will seek FCC approval to redesign FCC Form 466 and eliminate FCC Form 468.

• RHCD is proceeding to seek FCC approval to post urban rates on its website for the benefit of applicants who wish to use them as a "safe harbor" for urban/rural comparison calculations. Eight to ten of the most common service types will be available, sorted by the cities of 50,000 or more per state.

• All forms will be capable of electronic signing and submission, and will be pre-filled with existing or past information when possible.
  

The FCC recently ruled on a appeal that affects how applicants with existing contracts might be able to still qualify for support after posting. Please check the RHCD website in the near future for further announcements.

RHCD reminds applicants that if a service starts or ends outside the dates on the Support Schedule, they must notify Karen Mogensen at the Customer Service Support Center.

Service providers are reminded that they must credit the account of a health care provider prior to requesting reimbursement from RHCD. This is a requirement of participating in the Rural Health Care Support Mechanism.