Connected Care Pilot Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

BACKGROUND ON THE PILOT PROGRAM

1. What is the Connected Care Pilot Program?

The Pilot Program is a limited duration program that will provide universal service support to help defray health care providers’ qualifying costs of providing connected care services, with a primary focus on providing these services to low-income or veteran patients.  The Pilot Program will make available up to $100 million to be committed over a three-year funding period and will be separate from the budgets of the existing Universal Service Fund (USF) programs.  The Pilot Program will provide funding for selected Pilot projects to cover 85% of the eligible costs of broadband connectivity, network equipment, and information services necessary to provide connected care services to the intended patient population.  The Pilot Program will not fund end-user devices or medical equipment.  The Commission expects that the Pilot Program will benefit many low-income and veteran patients who are responding to a wide variety of health challenges such as diabetes management, opioid dependency, high-risk pregnancies, pediatric heart disease, mental health conditions, and cancer. 

2. Is this a grant program?

No, the Connected Care Pilot Program is not a grant program.  Eligible health care providers that are selected to participate in the Pilot Program will be required to conduct a competitive procurement process for eligible services and network equipment and submit a funding request to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) in order to receive a funding commitment for eligible services and network equipment.  After receiving a funding commitment, the service provider, in conjunction with the health care provider, will be required to submit an invoicing form (FCC Form 463) and supporting documentation in order to receive reimbursement for eligible expenses and services.  Health care providers participating in the Pilot Program will be required to comply with all program rules and requirements, including applicable reporting requirements, and may be subject to compliance audits.

3.  Where can I obtain information on the Rules and Requirements for the Pilot Program?

The Report and Order establishing the Pilot Program, and the Second Report and Order outline the rules and requirements that are applicable to the Pilot Program.  Additional guidance is also provided in these FAQs, and the Wireline Competition Bureau’s September Public Notice and November Public Notice. 

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

4. Is the Pilot Program application window still open?

No.The Commission is no longer accepting applications for the Pilot Program.The Pilot Program’s application filing window opened on Friday, November 6, 2020 at 12:00 PM ET and closed on Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET

 

HEALTH CARE PROVIDER ELIGIBILITY

5. Who is eligible to receive funding?

The Connected Care Pilot Program is open to eligible health care provider sites that treat patients, whether located in rural or non-rural areas or U.S. territories.  The Connected Care Pilot Program is limited to public and nonprofit eligible health care providers that fall within the categories of health care providers in section 254(h)(7)(B) of the 1996 Act:

(1) post-secondary educational institutions offering health care instruction, teaching hospitals, and medical schools;
(2) community health centers or health centers providing health care to migrants;
(3) local health departments or agencies;
(4) community mental health centers;
(5) not-for-profit hospitals;
(6) rural health clinics;
(7) skilled nursing facilities; or
(8) consortia of health care providers consisting of one or more entities falling into the first seven categories. 

6. Are private, or for-profit health care providers eligible to receive funding?

No, private and for-profit entities are not eligible to receive funding through the Connected Care Pilot Program.  For example, a private physicians’ practice would not be eligible for support through this program.

 

ELIGIBLE SERVICES AND FUNDING LEVEL

7. What funding level is provided?

The Pilot Program will fund 85% of the costs of eligible items. Participating health care providers must pay 15% of the costs of eligible items and must also pay for any ineligible items that are not covered under the program. The health care provider’s required 15% share of the costs of eligible items must be paid from eligible sources (e.g., eligible health care provider, participating patients, or state, federal, or Tribal funding or grants). The health care provider’s required 15% share of the eligible costs cannot be paid from ineligible sources (e.g., direct payments from vendors or service providers).

8. What services are eligible for Connected Care Pilot Program funding?

The Pilot Program will fund 85% of the qualifying costs incurred by eligible health care providers. These costs include: (1) patient broadband Internet access services, (2) health care provider broadband data connections, (3) other connected care information services, and (4) certain network equipment.

9. What are examples of eligible services?

• Patient Broadband Internet Access Services/Health Care Provider Broadband Data Connections
  • New or upgraded broadband connections (whether for health care provider or participating patients) necessary for connected care services for the Pilot Program.
    • Broadband Connections Include:
      • Digital Subscriber Line
      • Cable Modem
      • Other Copper Wireline
      • Optical Carrier/Fiber to the End-User
      • Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
      • Mobile Wireless (3G, LTE, 4G, 5G)
      • Satellite
      • Broadband over Powerline
  • Health care providers requesting support for broadband services can also receive support for costs of internet security firewall services typically provided by the broadband service provider that are necessary to protect personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive patient information within the confines of the Pilot Program.

• Other Connected Care Information Services
  • Services for connected care that capture, transmit (including video visits), and store health care data for connected care.  This includes information services with “store-and-forward” technology, patient reported outcome platforms, and remote patient monitoring platforms and other telehealth platforms used to provide connected care services.
    • Examples include, but are not limited to:
      • HIPAA compliant (or requirement waived) telehealth solutions, packages, platforms, or suites of services that facilitate the capturing, storing, and transmitting of health care data between health care provider and patient for purposes of connected care services.  
      • HIPAA compliant (or requirement waived) telehealth video services that transmit health care data between health care provider and patients for purposes of connected care services. 
      • One-time, annual or recurring monthly costs for telehealth information services necessary to provide connected care. 
      • Licenses, subscriptions, or recurring charges necessary for health care providers to access or use eligible connected care information services that capture, transmit (including video visits), or store health care data for connected care.
      • Implementation and integration costs necessary to integrate Pilot Program eligible services used to provide connected care services through the Pilot Program.  This includes costs necessary to integrate existing electronic health records or electronic medical records systems with Pilot-supported information services. 

• Network Equipment
  • Certain network equipment necessary to make newly acquired or upgraded Internet service for the patient or health care provider for the Pilot Program functional (e.g., routers) or necessary to manage, control, or operate a supported broadband service, and network equipment necessary to make a connected care service functional.
    • Examples include, but are not limited to:
      • Equipment that terminates a carrier’s or other provider’s transmission facility and any router/switch that is directly connected to either the facility or the terminating equipment.   This includes routers at the health care provider premises or routers for use at participating patient residences.
      • Costs of engineering, furnishing (i.e., as delivered from the manufacturer), and installing eligible network equipment.
      • Servers used exclusively for eligible broadband services.
      • Routers (including at patient’s home).
      • Switches

• Miscellaneous Costs
  • Various miscellaneous costs associated with eligible services listed above may be eligible for support.  Applicants should request eligible miscellaneous services in the same category as the associated service being obtained or installed. 
    • Examples include, but are not limited to:
      • Installation, Activation, and Initial Configuration.
      • Fees and charges that are a necessary component of an eligible service, such as shipping charges, taxes, surcharges, and other reasonable charges incurred in obtaining an eligible product or service.

10. Are there any limits on requesting broadband service for patients?

To ensure that funding for patient broadband Internet access service is targeted appropriately, Pilot Program applicants seeking support for patient broadband Internet access service must identify the estimated number of patient broadband connections that the health care provider intends to purchase for purposes of providing connected care services to patients who lack broadband service or have insufficient broadband services. A health care provider seeking funding for patient broadband Internet access service must also explain in its application how it plans to assess whether a patient lacks broadband service or has insufficient broadband Internet access service for the proposed connected care service based on speed, technology (e.g., fixed or mobile broadband), or other appropriate service characteristics.  Patient broadband service funded through the Pilot must be primarily used for activities that are integral, immediate, and proximate to the provision of connected care services to participating patients.

11. Are end-user devices, medical equipment or medical supplies eligible for support?

No.  The Connected Care Pilot Program will not fund end-user devices (e.g., computers, cellphones, remote patient monitoring devices), medical equipment or medical supplies.

12. Are personnel, IT, administrative, and training costs eligible for support?

No.  Funding will not be provided for personnel costs (including but not limited to costs for IT staff, project managers, or medical professionals), marketing costs, administrative expenses, or training costs.  Vendors and service providers can elect to provide training and other IT support at no cost to health care providers participating in the program. 

13. Will you fund the building of websites or the development of new platforms for providing connected care services?

No.  Only the eligible costs of connected care services may be funded by the Connected Care Pilot Program; the program is not intended to fund development of new websites, systems, or platforms.   

14. Are retroactive costs eligible for funding?

 The Connected Care Pilot Program will fund only the prospective costs of eligible connected care services. 

 

APPLICATION SELECTION PROCESS

15. How will the Commission select projects?

The Commission will evaluate applications and select projects based on applicants’ responses to the information requested on the Connected Care Pilot Program application.  Because the Connected Care Pilot Program is intended to help defray eligible health care providers’ costs of providing connected care services, particularly for low-income Americans and veterans, the Commission will have a strong preference for Pilot projects that can demonstrate that they will primarily benefit low-income individuals or veterans.  The Commission will also consider whether the applicant has successfully developed, coordinated, or otherwise implemented a telehealth program, and presents a well-defined plan for meeting the health care needs of participating patients, with a particular emphasis on eligible low-income and veteran patients.  The Commission also has an interest in selecting diverse Pilot projects and targeting funding towards geographic areas and populations most in need of Universal Service Fund (USF) support for connected care services.

16. How many Pilot projects will the Commission select to participate in the Connected Care Pilot Program?

The Commission has not set a limit on the number of Pilot projects selected for the Connected Care Pilot Program or the amount of support requested per pilot project.

17. Is there a limit on how much funding health care providers can receive?

The Commission has not set a limit or an amount of support requested per Pilot project.  The Commission’s selections to date have ensured that numerous projects will have the ability to participate in the Pilot Program.

18. How will funding amount determinations be made?
    In selecting projects, the Commission will take into account the estimated project budgets for eligible services and network equipment.  Selection of a project does not guarantee the project will receive a specific funding amount.  After being notified of their selection, and selecting vendors for eligible items, selected Pilot projects will submit a funding request to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) via the FCC Form 462 (Request for Funding).  USAC will review the funding requests and issue a funding commitment for the eligible services and network equipment the Pilot project plans to purchase with program funding. 

 

PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS

19. Are there any specific procurement requirements?

Yes. Participants of the Connected Care Pilot Program will be required to conduct a competitive procurement process to solicit and select eligible services and/or equipment.  Applicants will be required to follow the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program’s competitive bidding requirements, which include submitting a Request for Services Form (FCC Form 461) and Request for Proposal (RFP) (as applicable) for the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to post on its website, seeking bids, waiting 28 days before selecting a service provider, conducting a bid evaluation to select a service provider, and then selecting the most-cost effective service.  All potential bidders must have access to the same information and be treated in the same manner during the competitive bidding period to ensure that the process is “fair and open.”  Gifts from service providers will also be prohibited.

Health care providers can seek bids for multi-year or single-year contracts during the competitive bidding process. If a health care provider only seeks bids for a single-year contract, it will need to conduct a new competitive bidding process for each year of the Pilot Program. The competitive bidding requirements for the Pilot Program are in addition to and do not supplant any applicable state or local procurement requirements.

20. Are there any competitive bidding exemptions?

Yes.  Similar to the competitive bidding exemptions provided under the Healthcare Connect Fund Program, eligible health care providers participating in the Connected Care Pilot Program will not be required to seek competitive bids if:

• The eligible health care provider seeks support for services and equipment purchased from Master Services Agreements (MSAs) negotiated by federal, state, Tribal, or local government entities on behalf of such health care providers and others, if such MSAs were awarded pursuant to applicable federal, state, Tribal, or local competitive bidding requirements;
• The eligible health care provider opts into an existing MSA approved under the Rural Health Care Pilot Program or Healthcare Connect Fund Program and seeks support for services and equipment purchased from the MSA, if the MSA was developed and negotiated in response to an RFP that specifically solicited proposals that included a mechanism for adding additional sites to the MSA;
• The eligible health care provider has a multi-year contract designated as “evergreen” by USAC and seeks to exercise a voluntary option to extend an evergreen contract without undergoing additional competitive bidding;
• The eligible health care provider is in a consortium with participants in the schools and libraries universal service support program (E-Rate program) and a party to the consortium’s existing contract, if the contract was approved in the E-Rate program as a master contract;
• The eligible health care provider seeks support for $10,000 or less of total undiscounted eligible expenses for a single year, if the term of the contract is one year or less; or
• The eligible health care provider already has entered into a legally binding agreement with a service provider for services or equipment eligible for support in the Pilot Program and that legally binding agreement itself was the product of competitive bidding.  (Note:  This exemption only applies to the Pilot Program and is intended to be limited to situations where a participating health care provider intends to rely on or expand an existing competitively bid contract for purposes of participating in the Pilot Program.  Health care providers cannot rely on this exemption to enter into new contracts solely for purposes of purchasing eligible items through the Pilot Program, and cannot rely on this exemption to enter into new contracts after the project was selected for the Pilot Program). 

21. Will FCC staff make vendor recommendations or put vendors into contact with eligible health care providers who apply for funding?

Eligible health care providers select the specific eligible services and network equipment and the vendors for those services and network equipment. 

 

REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS

22. Will health care providers receive payment for eligible services and network equipment?

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will issue payments for eligible items to service providers, not to health care providers.  Health care providers will receive a discount on their bill for eligible services or network equipment. 

23. How will service providers be reimbursed for eligible services provided to selected participants?

After providing the eligible services and/or equipment, service providers, in conjunction with the participating health care providers, will be required to make certain certifications and then submit invoicing forms (Request for Disbursement—FCC Form 463) and supporting documentation to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to receive reimbursement for the cost of the eligible services and/or equipment they have provided to participating health care providers under the Pilot Program.  USAC will review the invoicing forms and supporting documentation and issue disbursements to the applicable service providers or vendors, whether a broadband service provider, or other provider.  Projects are encouraged to submit invoices on a monthly basis. 

24. When and how will funding commitments be determined and issued?

Pilot Program participants will be required to submit a Request for Funding (FCC Form 462) to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) no later than six months after the selection date with specific pricing and service information for the funding they are requesting through the Pilot Program. Participating health care providers with multi-year contracts may submit a single funding request for the full period covered by the contract.  However, the Commission anticipates that USAC will issue funding commitments for one year at a time.  The funding will be disbursed by USAC to the service provider and the health care provider will receive a discount on its bill. USAC will review the funding requests and issue funding commitment letters to the participating health care providers and service providers indicating the amount committed under the Pilot Program for the selected Pilot project.

 

ADMINISTRATION AND REPORTING

25. Who will administer the program?

The Commission will select the projects, and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will administer the program.

26. Are there reporting requirements associated with Connected Care Pilot Program funds?

Pilot Program participants are required to submit three total reports: an annual report after their first year of funding, after their second year of funding, and a final report after their third year of funding that contains data for the third year of funding, summarizes final results, and explains whether goals of the Pilot project were met and how the Pilot project served the Commissions’ goals for the program.  We expect that Pilot Program participants will be asked to report data such as: the number of patients served and percentage of those who were low-income and veteran patients; changes from the estimated patient population; progress in meeting the project’s goals and objectives; impact of funding on number of patients treated with connected care; patient satisfaction with connected care and with health status; changes in treatment adherence; reductions in emergency room or urgent care visits; decreases in hospital admissions, re-admissions or lengths of stay; reductions or improvements in condition-specific outcomes or acute incidents among those who suffer from a chronic illness; impact of funding patient broadband connections; decreases in missed appointments; estimated cost-savings for health care providers and patients; reduced patient travel or time (e.g., reduction in travel time or time missed from work); and other metrics that may demonstrate progress toward achieving the Pilot Program’s goals, and general feedback on program administration.  We expect that the final report from Pilot Program participants will, at a minimum, include an overall summary of the information in the annual reports, an explanation of how the project helped advance the goals and objectives of the Pilot Program, an explanation of whether the Pilot project met its specific goals and objectives, information on any lessons learned concerning the provision and utilization of connected care services, and, particularly for low-income patients and veterans, lessons learned concerning patient retention, patient training, and how best to address digital literacy challenges. 

The specific data to be reported by Pilot projects and the format of the required data will be determined and announced by the Bureau in a public order or notice at a later date. 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

27. Who can I contact for additional information?

You may contact  ConnectedCare@fcc.gov for questions or inquiries about the Connected Care Pilot Program.