The current definition of a building with licensed acute-care beds “ignores the fact that the integrated delivery models now utilized in the healthcare sector have significantly expanded the role of ambulatory care centers and hospital employed medical staff offices as a means to care for the patient population,” the lawmakers wrote in their Aug. 1 letter.
Excluding these providers undermines the intent of the FCC’s Healthcare Connect Fund, which is to help connect providers across the continuum of care by offering financial assistance to implement or improve broadband connectivity, according to the letter.
The lawmakers therefore urge the FCC to expand the program’s definition of ‘nonprofit hospital’ to include all rural healthcare delivery locations.
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