Healthcare Facilities

A new "consensus-driven roadmap" on the future of the Universal Service Fund argues that universal service should be understood as an ongoing responsibility, not a goal to achieve, and offers six principles for Universal Service Fund reform.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and its partners urged the communities that depend on E-Rate to act now. The Federal Communications Commission's proposal to potentially terminate the E-Rate program was published in the Federal Register today, formally starting the clock on the public's chance to respond.

The recent growth in the use of telehealth has facilitated new and expanded access to care for patients, while also raising questions for healthcare providers about laws and regulations regarding payment, use, and delivery of services. This issue brief is the third in a series that aims to address broadband barriers in healthcare, with the first brief exploring why broadband is a ‘super’ social determinant of health and the second brief assessing funding opportunities to improve access to care via broadband-enabled technologies.

In July, we summarized the Federal Communications Commission's draft Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order in its long-running Promoting Telehealth in Rural America proceeding. The Federal Communications Commission adopted that item on August 6, 2026, and released the final version on August 7. The bulk of what we wrote in July still holds.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed reforms to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its Rural Health Care (RHC) Program.

Judges probed the role of the $8 billion-per-year Universal Service Fund and its administrator. Conservative nonprofit Consumers’ Research is challenging the Federal Communications Commission program again, after a defeat at the Supreme Court in 2025. USF supports building and maintaining rural broadband networks, plus voice and internet discounts for low-income households, schools, and healthcare centers.

The stakes for schools, libraries, and health clinics could not be higher. Last year, the Supreme Court delivered us a historic victory in SHLB v. Consumers’ Research when the Court confirmed that the Universal Service Fund, a bipartisan program with a three-decade-long record of connecting communities across rural and urban America, is constitutional. Today we made sure the Fifth Circuit heard from the anchor institutions and the people who depend on this funding to serve their communities.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) projects a consolidated budget of $68.06 million for the federal Universal Service Support Mechanism in 4Q2026. Direct costs for all support mechanisms total $30.53 million. Joint and common costs (including billing, collection, and disbursement activities) total $37.53 million. Universal Service Support Mechanisms include High Cost, Low Income, Rural Health Care, Schools and Libraries, and Connected Care Pilot. 

Funding for federal programs supporting broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion has tightened over the last year. With the Affordable Connectivity Program winding down in April 2024, the termination of Digital Equity Act grants in May 2025, and changes to the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the digital divide could widen, leaving millions disconnected from essential services that rely on internet access, including healthcare.

On July 16, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) and Order in its long-running Promoting Telehealth in Rural America proceeding (WC Docket No.