FCC Telehealth Approvals Top $100 Million

With another batch of 67 approvals, the FCC has now given out over half the $200 million in telehealth broadband funding allocated in the CARES Act COVID-19 aid bill.

Related: New Bill Expands FCC Rural Healthcare Program to Urban

The additional $20.18 million for the 67 projects brings the total to $104.98 million for 305 health care providers in 42 states and Washington, D.C. That includes over 100 mental and behavioral health care providers.

The money is going to laptop computers, smart phones, videoconferencing equipment, broadband service, software and more.

"[W]e are already seeing the program’s positive impact on the health and wellness of our communities," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "To give just one example, the program is enabling the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to remotely monitor children who have received organ transplants and are thus immunocompromised."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.