The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the internet is a critical infrastructure and having the ability to virtually conduct business, video conferences with medical professionals, and access online education is essential for everyone, everywhere. Getting Americans connected and keeping them connected is foremost in the thoughts of local, state, and federal policymakers. Federal broadband funding programs such as the FCC’s $200M COVID-19 Telehealth Program were recently created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and existing programs such as the USDA’s ReConnect Program and the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant program received additional appropriations of $100M and $25M respectively by the CARES Act.
To date, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program has funded 82 health care providers in 30 states for a total of $33.26M in funding. On April 29, 2020, two Colorado healthcare providers received awards from the COVID-19 Telehealth Program:
Valley-Wide Health Systems, Inc., in Alamosa, Colorado, was awarded $46,437 to implement video telehealth services to provide virtual health visits for COVID-19 screening and primary medical care to its vulnerable low-income and elderly patients.
Children’s Hospital Colorado, in Aurora, Colorado, with 14 locations throughout the state, was awarded $807,090 to implement telehealth services to provide continuity of medical care for children, adolescents, and young adults with complex pediatric illnesses in the Rocky Mountain region.
Billions in broadband funding will be made available and distributed over the coming weeks, months, and years. Track the latest federal broadband funding, training webinars, and application cycles for the USDA and FCC programs on the CBO Federal Corner web page. Of particular note:
- USDA’s Distance Learning & Telemedicine (DLT) Grant: $72 million, Deadline July 13, 2020
- USDA’s ReConnect Program: $600M, details coming soon
- Economic Development Administration Grant: $1.5B, applications accepted until funds are exhausted
- FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Auction 904: $16 billion ($700M available in Colorado), Auction to begin October 22, 2020
- FCC’s Connected Care Pilot: $100M, details coming soon
- FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program: $200M, applications accepted until funds are exhausted
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