WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp announced that after her bipartisan push, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft proposal to increase federal funding to connect rural health care providers to high speed internet through the Rural Health Care (RHC) program – the first increase for the program in over 20 years.

Last month, Heitkamp led a bipartisan group of 30 other U.S. Senators including U.S. Senator John Hoeven in urging FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to strengthen the RHC to address the shortage of broadband connectivity for rural health care providers. The RHC has been improving the quality of health care available in rural America since 1997, but has never seen a funding increase despite increased demand.

“The FCC’s Rural Health Care Program has helped rural health providers expand telemedicine and deliver care to children, seniors, veterans, and others in hard-to-reach communities. It’s encouraging that the FCC listened to us, and this new proposal to increase federal funding is a needed step toward expanding high-speed internet in rural America, where we still face hurdles to connectivity,” Heitkamp said. “I urge the FCC commissioners to closely examine this proposal to make sure it meets the needs of rural health care providers to ensure every person in rural America has the access to quality, affordable health care they deserve.”

“We are grateful for Chairman Pai’s announcement today,” said Dan Holdhusen, Director of Government Relations for the Good Samaritan Society, which provides senior housing and care services across North Dakota. “It appears to be a very favorable development, and we are anxiously awaiting more details to learn more. We are particularly grateful to the bipartisan group of 31 senators led by Senators Heitkamp and Hoeven, who recently wrote to the FCC to voice their support for the RHC program.”

Background

Heitkamp has long pushed to improve and expand health services for North Dakotans in rural and remote areas. In January, she introduced bipartisan legislation with U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Smith, and others to strengthen rural health care delivery systems and improve access to high quality services for individuals living in rural and underserved areas. The bill passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in February.

Heitkamp also secured several important provisions boosting rural health in the bipartisan budget agreement signed into law in February, including provisions to support Community Health Centers, extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), support low-income children and at-risk pregnant women and parents, and repeal the cap on occupational therapy. In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) heeded her call to make sure rural communities are better prioritized in the federal government through the creation of a Rural Health Council to take rural health care into account when federal rules are written.

In 2016, Heitkamp unveiled a series of bills that would make sure the federal government is listening closely to the needs and challenges of rural communities in North Dakota and across the country when accessing critical resources like health care. Click here for more information. 

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