FCC Fights COVID-19 with $200M Telehealth Program

Huge news from the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month as they voted in favor of adopting a $200 million telehealth program to support healthcare providers responding to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This new program will provide immediate support to HCP’s and patients across the country, including aid for the purchase of telecommunications, broadband connectivity, and devices necessary for providing telehealth.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement on the adoption of the order:

“Our nation’s healthcare providers need us more than ever, and we at the FCC are answering the call. With the adoption of the $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program, the FCC can now take immediate steps to provide funding so that more patients can be treated at home, freeing up valuable hospital beds for those who most need them and reducing the risk of exposure to the virus.”

“In addition, the new Connected Care Pilot Program will help us to look to the future and determine how universal service support can shepherd telehealth services into a new era of healthcare delivery. I’d like to thank my colleagues at the FCC for voting expeditiously to adopt these two programs. More than ever, we need to work together to address the needs of the American people in the face of this increasingly challenging time.”

The FCC also adopted final rules to stand up a Connected Care Pilot Program. This separate three-year Pilot Program will provide up to $100 million of support from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to help defray health care providers’ costs of providing connected care services and to help assess how the USF can be used in the long-term to support telehealth.

There is no better time to adopt Siren as your Remote Patient Monitoring platform for best in class foot health. There is power in numbers and here at Siren, we stand by our customers. We are here to help in times of need and will still be here with you once we get through this, together as one.

For more information on these programs and additional FCC efforts to keep Americans connected, visit fcc.gov/keep-americans-connected.

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