FCC Is Scheduled to Take Up a Rural Health Care Program Overhaul Aimed at Cutting Telehealth Red Tape

The connectivity that lets a rural clinic run a video visit or send imaging to a distant specialist is subsidized, in part, by a federal program most patients never hear about. This week the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to reopen that program's rulebook, with a proposal aimed at cutting paperwork for the rural hospitals and clinics that rely on it. As with any rulemaking, what is on the table is a proposal, not a settled change.

What the FCC is scheduled to consider

On Thursday, August 6, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to hold its monthly open meeting, and its published agenda includes an item titled Promoting Telehealth in Rural America (WC Docket No. 17-310). The item is a Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order. According to the Commission's Sunshine Act meeting notice, the notice portion would seek comment on several improvements to the Rural Health Care Program intended to reduce administrative burdens on program participants and to better administer limited program funding given increased program participation and service costs. Nothing described here is final: the item is a proposal that the commissioners are scheduled to vote on, and the notice portion only seeks public comment.

What the Rural Health Care Program does

The Rural Health Care Program is one of the federal Universal Service Fund programs. It provides financial support that helps eligible rural health care providers obtain telecommunications and broadband internet services at reduced rates, which in turn supports the delivery of telehealth to some of the most remote communities in the country. Program figures reported by the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society put the funding year 2026 cap at 744.2 million dollars, with about 523 million dollars disbursed in 2024 to nearly 14,000 providers.

What the proposed notice would ask

The Third Further Notice, as reviewed by the Benton Institute, poses questions rather than adopting rules. Its proposals cluster in three areas:

• Rate calculation methods: whether the current 30 percent speed similarity threshold used to compare services remains appropriate, whether the FCC should move from a functional (end user) similarity standard to a technological one, and whether comparable rural areas could span adjoining states.
• Alternatives to cost studies: recognizing that cost-based rate justifications have become increasingly burdensome, the notice asks about options such as using the wholesale rates providers charge other carriers, reusing previously approved cost models or rates, and interpolating or extrapolating rates from other bandwidth levels.
• Program administration: creating a formal eligible services list, setting deadlines for the Universal Service Administrative Company to process applications (modeled on the E-Rate program's September 1 standard), and eliminating the Healthcare Connect Fund program's annual reporting requirement.

Each of these is a question for public comment, per the Benton Institute's review of the draft item, not an adopted rule. The specifics can change before the Commission issues anything final.

What the accompanying Order would do for 2027

Alongside the notice, the item includes an Order that would permit rural health care providers to use previously approved rural rates for funding year 2027 that would otherwise require a fresh cost-based justification. The Benton Institute describes this as a third consecutive waiver of the cost-justification requirement, extending rates approved in funding years 2024 through 2026. Unlike the notice, which only seeks comment, this Order provision would take effect for the 2027 funding year if the Commission adopts the item.

Why it matters for telehealth

The Rural Health Care Program pays for the connectivity layer beneath rural telehealth: the broadband and telecommunications links that let clinics and hospitals in remote areas run video visits, transmit imaging, and connect to larger health systems. Reducing paperwork and clarifying how rural rates are set could make the subsidy easier for small rural providers to use. The Commission frames the changes as administrative and as a way to better administer limited funding, rather than as an expansion of the program's dollar cap. The draft, as reported by the Benton Institute, does not propose changing the Rural Health Care Program funding cap itself.

What happens next

The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the item at the August 6, 2026 open meeting. If the Commission adopts the Third Further Notice, a public comment period would open after the item is published, with comment deadlines set at that time. The Order provisions, if adopted, would apply to the 2027 funding year. As with any rulemaking, the proposals can be narrowed, changed, or dropped before any final rules take effect.

Limits of what is known

This is general information about a pending federal proceeding, not legal or financial advice. As of publication the item had not been voted on, the notice only seeks comment, and specific comment deadlines had not yet been set. Providers with questions about Rural Health Care Program eligibility or funding should consult the FCC's published materials, the Universal Service Administrative Company, or a qualified adviser.