PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 13-1890 Released: September 12, 2013 WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU ANNOUNCES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HEALTHCARE CONNECT FUND RULES AND AVAILABILITY OF FORMS WC Docket No. 02-60 The Wireline Competition Bureau (“Bureau”) announces that the rules associated with information collections for the new Healthcare Connect Fund have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). As a result, those rules and the associated FCC Forms are now effective. 1 In December 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) released the Healthcare Connect Fund Order to create the Healthcare Connect Fund. 2 To create this new program, the Commission amended Part 54 of its rules, 47 C.F.R. Part 54, and ordered that the amended rules become effective thirty days after publication in the Federal Register, except for those rules with information collections requiring OMB approval under PRA. 3 The Commission also ordered that those rules with PRA collections would “become effective immediately upon announcement in the Federal Register of OMB [Office of Management and Budget] approval and of effective dates of such rules.” 4 OMB has approved these amended rules and notice of such approval has been published in the Federal Register, and such rules therefore are now effective. 5 The FCC forms associated with those rules also may now be made available for use by applicants (i.e., FCC Forms 460-463). 6 We also announce that FCC Form 460, which is used to determine whether healthcare provider sites are eligible for Healthcare Connect Fund support and to register participating HCP sites, is now available for online submission. Applicants can access the form on the Universal Service Administrative 1 Rural Health Care Support Mechanism, 78 Fed. Reg. 54,967 (Sept. 9, 2013); see also Rural Health Care Support Mechanism, WC Docket No. 02-60, Report and Order, 27 FCC Rcd 16678, 16828, para. 380 (2012) (“Healthcare Connect Fund Order”); 47 C.F.R. §§ 54.601(b), 54.603(a) and (b), 54.609(d)(2), 54.615(c), 54.619(a)(1) and (d), 54.623(a), 54.631(a) and (c), 54.632, 54.633(c), 54.634(b), 54.636, 54.639(d), 54.642, 54.643, 54.645, 54.646, 54.647, 54.648(b), and 54.675(d), and FCC Forms 460, 461, 462, and 463. 2 Healthcare Connect Fund Order, 27 FCC Rcd 16678 (2012). 3 Id. at 16828, para. 380. Those amended rules were published in the Federal Register on March 1, 2013 and became effective on March 31, 2013, to the extent they did not contain new or amended information collection requirements. See Rural Health Care Support Mechanism, 78 Fed. Reg. 13,936 (Mar. 1, 2013) (codified at 47 C.F.R. Part 54). 4 Healthcare Connect Fund Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 16828, para. 380. See n.1, supra. 5 Rural Health Care Support Mechanism, 78 Fed. Reg. 54,967 (Sept. 9, 2013). 6 Id. 2 Company’s (“USAC”) website, at http://www.usac.org/rhc/healthcare-connect/tools/forms/default.aspx. Applicants must submit Healthcare Connect Fund forms, including the FCC Form 460, through My Portal, USAC’s online application tool (paper filings will not be accepted in the Healthcare Connect program). Details on how to use My Portal can be found on USAC’s website, at http://usac.org/rhc/tools/applicant-login/default.aspx. Information regarding the Healthcare Connect Fund can be found at http://www.usac.org/rhc/healthcare-connect/default.aspx and through rhc- assist@usac.org. For further information, please contact Christianna Lewis Barnhart, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-1372 or TTY (202) 418-0484, or christianna.barnhart@fcc.gov. - FCC -