Time for the FCC to Modernize the Rural Health Care Program

[Commentary] Every day, broadband is playing a bigger and bigger role in health care. Broadband can play a role in eliminating disparities in health care between urban and rural areas, and telemedicine can significantly lower the costs of care for everyone. But gaps in broadband availability, especially in rural areas, are preventing video-based diagnoses, remote patient monitoring, and electronic health record operability.

In a recent filing, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (“SHLB”) Coalition and a consortium of health care providers asked the Federal Communications Commission to initiate a rulemaking to modernize the Commission’s Rural Health Care program so it can help improve the quality of health care available to patients in rural communities and ensure that rural health care providers have access to telecommunications and broadband services. The FCC is seeking public comment on the SHLB Coalition petition. Comments are due January 14 and reply comments are due January 29, 2016. Like the FCC, the SHLB Coalition welcomes any reaction to our petition.

[John Windhausen, Jr. is the Executive Director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition]