FCC gets $250M to relaunch COVID-19 telehealth program, seeks public input

The FCC is seeking advice on how to distribute the second round of its COVID-19 telehealth program, which recently received an additional $249.95 million in funds. 

The additional funding was finalized Dec. 27 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The money will support the COVID-19 telehealth program, which the FCC established last April to equip healthcare providers with telehealth technologies and implementation support during the pandemic. For the initial funding round, the FCC dispersed $200 million on a rolling basis to 539 funding applications from 47 states plus Washington, D.C., and Guam. 

Funding for the program ran out in July 2020, but with the additional $249.95 million, the FCC is seeking input on  topics, including application evaluation metrics and how to address applications filed during the first round that did not receive funding. 

The FCC’s public notice will be published in the Federal Register, and comments are due Jan. 19.