ACS Warns FCC of 'Crisis' if USF Rural Health Care Reserve Is Used to Cut Contributions
Alaska Communications Systems said USF management faces "an acute crisis" affecting the FCC Rural Health Care (RHC) Program. ACS said recent regulatory actions "demonstrate that a secondary goal, shrinking the contribution factor, may be taking precedence over the Communications Act’s…
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mandate to increase access to universal service." Universal Service Administrative Co. and FCC decisions reducing funding by 7.5 percent for approved RHC projects "have put rural health care providers ('HCPs') in an untenable position, leaving them incapable of paying for services ordered, and leaving service providers uncertain of recovering their expenses," said a company filing in docket 02-60 Friday. "The FCC is now considering a proposal to further harm the RHC program by using RHC program reserves to temporarily reduce the contribution rate rather than support real needs for rural health care," said ACS, citing USAC as changing, "without explanation," its 3Q recommendation for funding RHC from contributions to the RHC reserve (see 1706050008). "It is troubling that the Commission might inadvertently cede a golden opportunity to improve broadband access for rural HCPs in exchange for a merely cosmetic change to the contribution line item." The telco asked the agency to hike RHC funding without increasing the contribution factor and without borrowing from the RHC reserve fund or a high-cost program account. The FCC and USAC didn't comment Monday.