As the COVID-19 crisis has triggered shelter-in-place orders throughout our nation, health care providers are rushing to serve their patients by implementing and performing telehealth services in short order. Not only do telehealth services minimize the use of personal protective equipment (“PPE”), they allow for providers and patients to do their part by minimizing the spread of the virus.
Upon the CARES Act being signed into law, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) was awarded $200M to carry out the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The goal of the program is to provide support to eligible health care providers in implementing telehealth services by funding the purchase of telecommunications, information services and connected devices.
An eligible health care provider is one that meets the definition of 47 U.S.C. 254(h)(7)(B):
Eligible health care providers may receive funding to purchase internet services, voice services, information services and connected devices. The FCC recently released FAQs listing the following purchases as qualified for funding:
As specified by a recent Public Notice issued by the FCC, interested providers should obtain an eligibility determination from the Universal Service Administration Company (“USAC”), obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN), register with the System for Award Management, register with the Invoice Processing Platform (“IPP”) and submit an application to the FCC.
Pages 4-6 of the Public Notice provide details regarding the information needed in your application. The key to having your application accepted is to clearly illustrate and articulate the following:
Health care providers that receive funding will be required to submit a reimbursement request. This process consists of submitting invoicing forms and attaching the following documents via the IPP:
After the reimbursement request is approved, payment will be issued to the health care provider electronically.
For the latest regulatory changes and other information on keeping your organization running through disruption, visit our COVID-19 Resource Center.
May 01, 2020