U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) joined a bipartisan contingent of colleagues in requesting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) strengthen the COVID-19 Telehealth Program and ensure that funds from the next federal pandemic stimulus package go to small rural healthcare providers.
“It is critical that all areas across the United States have access to telehealth and telemedicine during this difficult time,” wrote Sen. Rounds and his colleagues in a recent letter sent to FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “In order to ensure that funding reaches the areas across our country that need help the most, and need it now, we call on the FCC to target funds to small providers in rural areas.”
Among the five other lawmakers who joined Sen. Rounds in signing the letter was U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who submitted comments in response to the FCC’s request for public comment on how to administer another round of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which received almost $250 million in funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
“We were pleased that funding for FCC telehealth made it into the end-of-year spending bill, as well as language requiring the equitable distribution of these funds across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and we ask that this round of funding include targeted funds for rural areas,” Sen. Rounds and his colleagues wrote.
The senators said the point of the FCC telehealth program is to help build out telehealth infrastructure among providers that currently lack capacity. “Unfortunately, a majority of funding in the first round of the pilot program went to larger providers with more substantial requests, while many smaller providers who serve an essential role in our rural communities across the country were unsuccessful,” they wrote.
Linking rural emergency medical providers with specialists in real time could keep emergency department patients at home and more efficiently identify and treat patients who need more immediate care, according to their letter.
The senators also urged the FCC to provide as much technical assistance and be as communicative with healthcare providers as much as possible.
“Standing up a new assistance program during the pandemic is a difficult task, and we believe that effective communication and transparency throughout all phases of the process will result in the effective, efficient use of taxpayer dollars to improve health outcomes across our country,” they wrote.