Rural Health Care

If you are a school or library seeking E-Rate discounts, a rural health care provider, a Lifeline provider serving low-income households, or a carrier deploying networks with high-cost support, you deal with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)—the private, not-for-profit corporation that administers the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF).

Every few years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tells Congress and the public what it intends to do with its authority. The agency's strategic plan is not a rulemaking and creates no legal obligations, but it is the framework around which the FCC builds its annual performance plan and budget request to Congress. The strategic plan also serves as the yardstick against which the agency's own annual performance reports—and outside overseers like the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)—measure whether the FCC did what it said it would do.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced the agenda for the FCC August Open Commission Meeting. The agenda includes:

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Managing Director announced that the proposed universal service contribution factor for the third quarter of 2026 will be 0.388 or 38.8 percent. Contributions to the federal universal service support mechanisms are determined using a quarterly contribution factor calculated by the FCC.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced the amount of unused funds for the Rural Health Care Program that have been carried forward for funding year 2026. The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) projects that, as of April 30, 2026, $226.42 million in unused funds is available for use in future funding years beginning in funding year 2026. The Bureau, in consultation with the FCC's Office of the Managing Director, directs USAC to carry forward up to $226.42 million in unused funds from prior funding years to the extent necessary to satisfy fu

The Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC’s) estimated total Rural Health Care (RHC) Program demand for Funding Year 2026 is $911.25 million, including the gross demand estimate of $882.19 million for the Telecommunications (Telecom) and Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Programs and the projected USAC administrative expenses of $29.06 million.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) submitted the contribution base amount to be used for the third quarter of calendar year 2026 (3Q2026). Upon approval of the universal service support mechanisms quarterly funding requirements, projected administrative costs, and the contribution base, the Federal Communications Commission will establish a quarterly contribution factor and a circularity factor. USAC will then bill contributors monthly for their individual obligations based on the approved contribution factor. The total projected collected interstate and international end-u

On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget proposes to revise the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. The proposals might be among the most consequential changes to federal grant administration in more than a decade, particularly in the breadth of its policy conditions.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) submitted the federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms fund size and administrative cost projections for the third quarter of calendar year 2026 (3Q2026). Upon approval of the quarterly funding requirements for the Support Mechanisms, the projected administrative expenses, and the submission of the contribution base amount, the Federal Communications Commission will establish a quarterly contribution factor.