COVID-19 Telehealth Program and MCA

The COVID-19 Telehealth Program (CTP) will provide $200 million in funding. Congress appropriated this funding as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This act will help health care providers provide connected care services to patients at their homes or mobile locations in response to the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. CTP offers immediate support to eligible health care providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It does so by fully funding the procurement of telecommunications, information services, and communications devices needed to provide critical connected care services. The program will continue until its funds run out or the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.

In order to participate in the program, your organization will need to first complete these three steps.

• Obtain an eligibility determination from Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)
  • Create an Account with USAC
  • Then Submit Form 460
• Obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN)
  • Register on FCC.gov
• Register with System for Award Management
  • Complete Registration on SAM.gov

Once those three steps above are complete, you can apply using the FCC’s online ECFS filing service. All fillings must be done under WC Docket No. 18‐213. Below is a picture of the landing page the for above link.  Select the COVID-19 option and sign-in using the FRN credentials from step 2.

Funding eligibility will be limited to the following categories of health care provider:

• Post‐secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, teaching hospitals, and medical schools
• Community health centers or health centers providing health care to migrants;
• Local health departments or agencies;
• Community mental health centers;
• Not‐for‐profit hospitals;
• Rural health clinics;
• Skilled nursing facilities; and
• Consortia of health care providers consisting of one or more entities falling into the first seven categories.

Examples of services and devices that COVID-19 Telehealth Program applicants may seek funding for include:

• Telecommunications Services and Broadband Connectivity Services: Voice services, and Internet connectivity services for health care provider or their patients.
• Information Services: Remote patient monitoring platforms and services; patient reported outcome platforms; store and forward services, such as asynchronous transfer of patient images and data for interpretation by a physician; platforms and services to provide synchronous video consultation.
• Internet Connected Devices/Equipment: tablets, smart phones, or connected devices to receive connected care services at home (e.g, broadband enabled blood pressure monitors; pulse-ox) for patient or health care provider use; telemedicine kiosks/carts for health care provider site.

Read the Full FCC Notice regarding the COVID-19 Telehealth Program.