Rural Health Care

Step 8: Additional Information About Support Schedule

USAC sends a health care provider (HCP) support schedule to the health care provider and the telecommunications or Internet service provider.

After receiving the Connection Certification Form (Form 467) from the health care provider, USAC generates a support schedule. The support schedule is sent to the health care provider contact and service provider(s). The purpose of the support schedule is to provide a detailed report of the approved service(s) and support information for each health care provider and service provider.


HCP Support Schedule Contents
The support schedule includes the following information:

  • Funding Year: 2003, 2004, etc.
  • HCP Number: unique five-digit number assigned to each HCP location
  • Funding Request Number: a unique four-digit code assigned by USAC for each HCP, service provider, and service combination.
  • Billing Account Number: account code for an HCP credited with USF support
  • HCP Name: name of HCP being supported
  • HCP Address: address of the HCP being supported
  • HCP Mailing Organization and Address
  • SPIN: Service Provider Identification Number - unique number used by USAC to identify the service provider
  • Service Provider: name of telecommunications carrier or ISP providing service
  • Service: telecommunications service or Internet service to be provided
  • Support Start Date: first date HCP can receive support based on the Description of Services Requested & Certification Form (Form 465)
  • Support End Date: last day service is eligible for support during the funding year
  • Support Date: month and year for support amount
  • Support Amount: support for the month ($)
  • Total: total support for the funding year ($)

The service provider uses the support schedule to determine how much credit the health care provider will receive each month. The support is credited to the Billing Account Number shown on the support schedule. A sample support schedule is available for download:

Sample support schedule (PDF, 14 KB)

What to Do When You Receive the Support Schedule
The schedule will be sent to the health care provider and service provider after Form 467 is processed by USAC.

Once the service provider receives the schedule, the provider must start applying program discounts to the health care provider during the next possible billing cycle based on the schedule. Since the FCC has allowed credit to be provided to third parties, the Billing Account Number may be from an account other than the health care provider location. The entity that receives the bill and pays for the service is defined as the "billed entity."

USAC requests that health care providers review all information on the schedule to make sure it is correct. This will ensure USF funds are paid to the correct service provider account.

USAC requests that health care providers check that the service provided was actually working and being billed for the time period on the support schedule. Be sure that the Billing Account Number listed on the schedule is the same Billing Account Number attached to the service and HCP location or HCP mailing organization and address. This ensures support is credited to the entity paying for the service.

If you are unsure whether the Billing Account Number is correct, believe there may be an error or potential fraud, or have questions, please call USAC's Customer Service Support Center at 1-800-229-5476.


Last modified on 2/19/2008