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February 2024 RHC Monthly Newsleer
February 1, 2024
Latest News
Don’t Miss Your RHC Program Invoicing Deadline!
Per FCC Order 19-78, applicants and service providers may request and receive a one-me 120-day extension to the
invoicing filing deadline. If your original invoice filing deadline was October 28, 2023, and you received an invoice
filing deadline extension, the new deadline is February 25, 2024.
For the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program:
Please note that the FCC Form 463 (Invoice Form for HCF) must be submied by the health care provider (HCP) and
approved by the service provider before this deadline. The invoicing process can take several days of collaboraon
between the HCP and the service provider, so we recommend that you iniate invoicing as soon as possible!
For the Telecommunicaons (Telecom) Program:
FCC Order 19-78 aligned the invoice filing deadline for the HCF and Telecom Programs. Applicants must submit the
FCC Form 467 (Connecon Cerficaon Form) before the service provider can submit the Telecom Invoice to USAC.
Unsure of Your Invoice Filing Deadline?
The invoice filing deadline is included in your funding commitment leer (FCL), which USAC sends via email aer
processing the FCC Form 462 (Funding Request Form for HCF) or FCC Form 466 (Funding Request Form for Telecom).
You can look up your invoice filing deadline using the
RHC Invoicing Deadline Tool on the Open Data plaorm.
For more informaon, please use the following online resources:
For the HCF Program: Invoice USAC and Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 463 webpages
For the Telecom Program: Invoice USAC webpage.
Invoicing Best Pracces
Please keep in mind that once you receive an approved funding commitment, you should follow the necessary steps
to invoice prior to your invoice filing deadline(s). Please be sure to respond to any invoicing Informaon Requests by
the 14-calendar day deadline listed in the email. For more informaon, please see the HCF invoice or Telecom
invoice webpages.
As a reminder: When a service provider does not cerfy an invoice, USAC sends an Informaon Request to remind
them to do so. USAC has no role or involvement in disputes between HCPs and service providers. HCPs should work
with their service providers to resolve any issues.
FY2024 Filing Window Opened December 1, 2023
The Funding Year (FY) 2024 filing window is open from December 1, 2023, to April 1, 2024. You must submit your
funding requests (FCC Forms 462 or 466) no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on April 1, 2024. We strongly recommend that
you submit funding requests as early as possible. Other forms for FY2024 (FCC Forms 460, 461, or 465) are also
being accepted now. Learn more about filing windows.
Please use the following resources to learn about subming these forms:
HCF Program:
Develop Bid Evaluaon Criteria & Select Services - webpage
Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 461 - webpage
Compeve Bidding Exempons - webpage
RHC Connect FCC Form 461 User Guide
Step 4: Submit Funding Requests - webpage
Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 462 webpage
RHC Connect FCC Form 462 User Guide
Telecom Program:
Prepare For Compeve Bidding and Request Services – webpage
Compeve Bidding Exempons - webpage
Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 466 webpage
RHC Connect FCC Form 466 User Guide
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For Connected Care Pilot Program (CCPP) data, please connue to use the original Search Posted Services tool to
search for publicly posted requests for services.
Upcoming Office Hours
Please join the RHC Outreach team for the following webinars:
HCF Office Hours – February 7, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET –
Register
Telecom Office Hours – February 14, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET – Register
Important Deadlines and Reminders
The following are recommended dates to submit the FCC Forms 461 and 465 with enough me to file funding
requests before the end of the FY2024 filing window.
HCF and Telecom Program Forms Last Day to Submit
FCC Form 461 and 465 - Request for Services
February 10, 2024 - Recommended
Date (requires more review me with
a Request for Proposal (RFP))
FCC Form 462 and 466 - Funding Request April 1, 2024 - Deadline to Submit
Please note that the FCC Forms 460, 461 and 465 submission dates are not mandatory deadlines per the program
rules, but rather recommended key dates to ensure that the FCC Forms 461 and 465 are posted to USAC’s website
early enough for a 28-day compeve bidding period before the deadline to submit FCC Forms 462 and 466. If FCC
Forms 461 and 465 are submied with an RFP, allow at least an addional 10 days for review.
Some users may have experienced technical issues posng FCC Forms 465 from December 27, 2023, through
January 23, 2023. These technical issues have been resolved. Please contact the RHC Customer Service Center if you
experience any technical issues.
Consorum Rurality Percentage
All current and new HCF Program consora must be “majority rural.” Majority rural means that more than 50
percent of parcipang HCPs in a consorum are rural. For example, if a consorum has five parcipang HCPs, at
least three of those HCPs must be in a rural area for the consorum to be deemed majority rural. Funding requests
filed by consora that are not in compliance with this rule will be denied.
Download the Consora Rurality Compliance Tip Sheet.
Duplicate Funding Prohibited
Please remember: FCC rules prohibit duplicate funding for the same service, for the same locaon, during the same
period, from more than one FCC program. This includes the RHC programs (HCF and Telecom), the COVID-19
Telehealth Program, and the CCPP.
FCC Form 466 for the Telecom Program for FY2024 Is Now in RHC Connect
The FCC Form 466 (Funding Request Form) is migrang to RHC Connect for FY2024. Although the plaorm changed,
the FCC Form 466 itself did not. To submit your funding request, you are asked the same quesons and need to
provide the same informaon as in years past. No preparaon for the plaorm change is required by you. Please
connue to use My Portal to submit FCC Forms 465 and the Telecom Program Invoice.
Please use the following resources to submit your FY2024 FCC Form 466:
RHC Connect User Guide – FCC Form 466
Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 466 webpage
Reminders for Account Holders
Per RHC program rules, the primary and secondary account holder for an individual HCP must be an officer, director,
or authorized employee of the HCP. For consorum applicants in the HCF Program, the project coordinator must be
an officer, director, or other authorized employee of the consorum leader. If you are an HCP parcipang in the
HCF or Telecom Program, and a consultant or other third party will file forms on your behalf, you must file a Third-
Party Authorizaon (TPA).
Note: The primary account holder is responsible for all acvies associated with subming and cerfying forms,
and for all acvies in the RHC program for their HCP site.
Leer(s) of Agency and Third-Party Authorizaons
Please be sure that all authorizaons including Leers of Agency (LOAs) and Third-Party Authorizaons (TPAs) are
current and up to date, at minimum, through the end of FY2024 and forward. For more informaon about LOAs,
visit the Leer of Agency webpage. For more informaon about TPA requirements, see the Third Party Authorizaon
(TPA) webpage.
What To Do When You Receive an Informaon Request
As part of their review of any eligibility, requests for services, funding requests, and invoicing forms, RHC reviewers
will contact all account holders (the primary and all secondary and terary account holders associated with the HCP)
with a request for addional informaon (“Informaon Request”). Informaon Requests aim to collect any missing
documentaon, address deficiencies, or gather general informaon required to address the quesons of RHC form
reviewers.
In our connuing efforts to deliver funding decisions as soon as possible, RHC will begin funding request reviews
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before the funding request window closes. This means that you may receive an Informaon Request before April 1,
2024. No final decisions will be made prior to the close of the filing window.
Informaon Request Tips for the Telecom Program
For FY2024 FCC Forms 466, an auto-generated email will be sent direcng HCPs to RHC Connect to respond.
HCPs should respond through RHC Connect only. Please use the
Informaon Request Tip Sheet to help you
navigate Informaon Requests sent through RHC Connect.
For prior years and all other Telecom Program forms, HCPs can receive Telecom Program Informaon
Requests through RHC Connect or by email.
For Informaon Requests received through My Portal or RHC Connect, HCPs should respond through
My Portal or RHC Connect only.
For Informaon Requests received by email, HCPs should “Reply All” to the email message.
Use only Chrome, Firefox, or Microso Edge internet browsers when using My Portal or RHC Connect.
When uploading a document as a response, the file must be limited to 10MB and its file name should not
contain any special characters, only leers and numbers.
Informaon Request Tips for the HCF Program
For FY2024 FCC Forms 462, an auto-generated email will be sent direcng HCPs to RHC Connect to respond.
HCPs should respond through RHC Connect only. Please use the Informaon Request Tip Sheet to help you
navigate Informaon Requests sent through RHC Connect.
HCPs that receive HCF Program Informaon Requests through email should “Reply All” to the email message.
Enhanced Tool for HCF and Telecom Program Requests for Services is Available on the USAC Website
An enhanced Search Posted Services tool is available on the USAC website. This tool is a streamlined version of the
Rural Health Care Posted Services (FCC Forms 461 and 465) dataset, making it easier to search for posted services
and download documents. This tool, and the underlying dataset, have replaced the HCF Program - Search Posted
Services tool and the Telecom Program - Search Posted Services tool for FY2023 and forward. The dataset contains
data from the FCC Forms 461 and 465, i.e., services requested for current and past funding years. The open data
portal allows you to filter, sort, and visualize the data in many different ways. There are hyperlinks in columns where
you can download PDF versions of the FCC Form 461, Requests for Proposal (RFPs), and any other addional
documentaon submied with the FCC Form 461.
For CCPP data, please connue to use the original Search Posted Services tool to search for publicly posted requests
for services.
FCC News
FCC Releases Order FCC 23-110: Connuing the Improvement Rural Health Care Program Procedures
On December 14, 2023, the FCC released a Third Report and Order, Order (FCC 23-110). This order improves RHC
program administraon and facilitates parcipaon in the program by allowing HCPs that expect to become eligible
during a funding year to complete the processes required to request funding. The order aligns program deadlines,
simplifies rules for calculang urban rates, streamlines administrave processes, and frees up unused funding for
other purposes.
Rule Changes
The Third Report and Order:
Permits HCPs to be granted condional eligibility, thus allowing them to iniate compeve bidding and
request funding before they meet all eligibility requirements. A HCP must meet all eligibility requirements
before it receives a funding commitment.
Provides HCPs more me to complete Service Provider Idenficaon Number (SPIN) changes by moving the
SPIN change deadline to align with the invoice filing deadline.
Simplifies urban rate calculaons by eliminang the seldom-used “standard urban distance” component of
the RHC program rule for determining urban rates in the Telecom Program.
Allows HCPs to request changes to the dates covered by an evergreen contract.
Adopts the FCC Form 460 for eligibility determinaons in the Telecom Program, which will eliminate the need
for Telecom Program parcipants to seek an eligibility determine every me they engage in compeve
bidding.
Establishes a deadline of July 1, 2024, for HCPs to claim undisbursed funding commitments that do not
currently have an applicable invoice filing deadline, which would free up for other uses up to $22.2 million in
unclaimed RHC program support from funding year 2019 and prior years.
For more informaon, read Order FCC 23-110.
RHC Connect Updates
FCC Form 466 for the Telecom Program for FY2024 Is Now in RHC Connect
The FCC Form 466 (Funding Request Form) is migrang to RHC Connect for FY2024. Although the plaorm changed,
the FCC Form 466 itself did not. To submit your funding request, you are asked the same quesons and need to
provide the same informaon as in years past. No preparaon for the plaorm change is required by you. Please
connue to use My Portal to submit FCC Forms 465 and the Telecom Program Invoice.
Please use the following resources to submit your FY2024 FCC Forms 466:
RHC Connect User Guide – FCC Form 466
Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 466 webpage
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Submit Your Post-Commitment Change Requests in RHC Connect
The following post-commitment change requests are now available in RHC Connect for HCF Program applicants:
SPIN changes (correcve and operaonal)
Site and service substuons
Service delivery deadline extensions for non-recurring charges
Invoice filing deadline extensions
A new webpage for Post-Commitment Acons has been published on the USAC website as well as specific webpages
for
SPIN Changes and Site and Service Substuons. A step-by-step Post-Commitments Change Request user
guide is available to help you submit these requests correctly.
The FCC Form 463 Is Available in RHC Connect for FY2022 and FY2023 Funding Commitments.
The plaorm change only affects HCF Program parcipants. HCF Program applicants subming FCC Forms 460 or
463 for funding years prior to FY2022 will connue to do so in My Portal. Telecom Program and CCPP applicaons
will not be affected. To learn more, please visit the Welcome to RHC Connect – FCC Form 463 webpage.
RHC Connect for Service Providers
For FY2022 and forward, the FCC Form 463 will be submied in RHC Connect. As you submit the FCC Form 463,
please keep in mind that the General Contact on the FCC Form 498 is the only user for the company who can create
addional logins for other users in that company.
If you have trouble accessing RHC Connect, it may be a result of outdated informaon on the FCC Form 498
(Service Provider and Billed Enty Idenficaon Number and General Contact Informaon Form). To correct the
issue, please update your FCC Form 498 as soon as possible and, if applicable, your Unique Enty Idenfier (UEI)
on the SAM.GOV webpage. For more informaon, please visit the Manage Your 498 ID webpage on the USAC
website.
A user guide for the FCC Form 463 specifically for service providers is now available on the Step 5: Invoice USAC
webpage in the RHC service provider secon of the USAC website.
Online Tools
Invoice Filing Deadlines
The Invoicing Deadline tool replaces the Invoicing Deadline spreadsheet. The tool allows service providers and HCPs
to look up the deadline to submit invoices for funding commitments. The tool frees users from having to set up
specific Excel configuraons to find their deadlines.
Note: The tool does not contain any addional informaon such as form submissions, payment status, or funds
remaining. Contact the RHC Customer Service Center for quesons about those topics. The Invoicing Deadline tool
and all other RHC tools can be found on the Tools webpage.
Eligible Rural Areas Search Tool
The Eligible Rural Areas Search tool has been removed from the Tools webpage and the HCF and Telecom eligibility
webpages. HCP rurality and priority ers can be searched using the Rurality Tier Search Tool. For more informaon
about how to use this tool, please use the How to Use the Rurality Tier Search Tool p sheet on the USAC website.
Note: This tool is for informaonal purposes only. Rurality ers are formally assigned during the review and
approval of the FCC Form 460 in the HCF Program and FCC Form 465 in the Telecom Program. Applicants should
check approved forms for their assigned rurality er.
News You Can Use
Changes to a Commitment Aer Funding Has Been Approved
When a FCL is received, it is the responsibility of the applicant to confirm that all informaon is accurate. Applicants
must contact USAC to request changes to an HCP site or service for any of the circumstances listed:
If the site address changes or the primary account holder no longer works for the HCP, an FCC Form 460
revision for HCF or a new FCC Form 465 for Telecom must be submied within 30 days of the change. The 30-
day requirement applies at all points during the funding lifecycle, including all post-commitment acvies.
If not all approved funds will be used, a request to decrease funding may be submied by sending an email
to RHC-In[email protected]. The HCP name and number, the affected FRN, and the amount reduced in the
commitment must be included. USAC will complete a paral de-commitment for the FRN in that amount.
In the Telecom Program, the approved FRN service dates can be revised prior to invoicing using the
FCC Form 467.
If any addional changes are required aer subming the FCC Form 467, an FCC Form 467 can be
resubmied prior to invoicing.
If funds within an FRN must be re-allocated, a site and service substuon must be submied. Learn more
about site and service substuons.
If no funds will be used in the approved or disbursed funding commitment, the disbursed funds must be
returned to USAC. Learn more about voluntary return of funds by vising the Returning Program Funding
webpage.
Cerficaons Requirements for Naonal Supply Chain
As a reminder, when service providers log in to My Portal, two new Supply Chain cerficaons included in the FCC
Form 463 and Telecom Program invoice will be displayed. The first cerficaon affirms compliance with the Secon
54.9 on USF for specified transacons with companies deemed to pose a naonal security threat. The second
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cerficaon affirms compliance with Secon 54.10, which prohibits the use of any Federal subsidies on any
communicaons equipment and services on the Covered List.
FY2022 and FY2023 program parcipants: If you requested services or equipment provided by or that
contain components of products produced by any company on the Covered List , or any of their parents,
affiliates, and subsidiaries in FY2022 or FY2023, you cannot invoice for these funds. Instead, you should
immediately request a service substuon prior to invoicing to ensure complete program compliance.
FY2024 program parcipants: As you proceed with requesng funding for FY2024, please ensure you are not
requesng funding for services or equipment from any company on the Covered List, or any of their parents,
affiliates, and subsidiaries.
USAC updated the
Supply Chain webpages to include three new subpages: COVID-19 Broadband Programs, Audits,
and FAQs.
Need Help? Contact Us!
For quesons about the Rural Health Care program, contact [email protected]g or the Customer Service Center at
(800) 453-1546 from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday for assistance. Use the Customer Service Center Tip
Sheet to learn about what the RHC Customer Service Center can and cannot help you with.
The informaon contained in this electronic communicaon and any aachments and links to websites are intended for
the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidenal or privileged informaon. If you are not the intended
recipient, or the person responsible for delivering this communicaon to the intended recipient, be advised you have
received this communicaon in error and that any use, disseminaon, forwarding, prinng, or copying is strictly
prohibited. Please nofy the sender immediately and destroy all copies of this communicaon and any aachments.