FCC Seeks Comment on Telehealth Reform

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The FCC is reviewing its telehealth program to weed out fraud and waste. That’s necessary because the number of Americans who want to use the program now exceeds the money available.

Telehealth, using wired and wireless technology to connect hospitals and patients, is one way the FCC aims to close the digital divide. “Americans living in rural communities are falling behind when it comes to the availability of high-quality care,” said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr during last Thursday’s meeting. “It is difficult to impossible to find specialists in many rural communities, and even basic care is often out of reach, as we see rural hospitals closing by the dozen across the country.” Indeed, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said his father is a doctor in rural Kansas and his upcoming retirement raises a host of questions.

Demand exceeded the Rural Health Care program budget for the first time in 2016 and the Commission expects to see the same outcome in 2017, leaving participating healthcare providers facing funding cuts. The current annual cap is $400 million. The FCC on Thursday voted to ask for public input on an appropriate funding cap.  

The agency is stepping in as it’s spending more money to serve fewer healthcare institutions. Over the last three years, the number of participants in the program dropped by 36 percent, while requests for funding grew by more than 67 percent. “This means that limited program dollars are starting to concentrate in a small number of healthcare providers that are receiving increasingly large subsidies,” according to Carr.

December 18, 2017                               

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