The Rural Health Care Program
The Rural Health Care (RHC) Program supports health care facilities in bringing world-class medical care to rural areas through increased connectivity. It provides up to $400 million annually in reduced rates for broadband and telecom services. There are two subprograms in the RHC Program: the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program and the Telecommunications (Telecom) Program.
The NY Community Broadband Partnership (NYCBP)
The NY Community Broadband Partnership (NYCBP) was formed as a part of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Healthcare Connect Program (HCP). The HCP promotes the creation of rural consortiums of healthcare organizations for the development of broadband infrastructure for healthcare providers in rural underserved communities. The consortium can be comprised of rural and urban healthcare partners and is designated rural if there is a 51% or greater representation of rural partners.
NYCBP welcomes rural and urban partners from the communities of New York State to the consortium. All eligible partners will get a 65% discount in their monthly cost for broadband services offered by an Internet Services Provider (ISP) chosen by the consortium. The partners will pay a small subscription fee to NYCBP for the administration and management of the consortium activities.