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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 APPROVING 
 Re:  In  the  Matter  of  Rural  Health  Care  Support  Mechanism,  Order  (WC  Docket  No.  02-  60) 


 It  is  still  the  unfortunate  truth  that  rural  America  lags  behind  the  rest  of  the  country  in  access  to  first-  rate  health  care.  That’s  bad  news  for  so  prosperous  a  nation  as 
 ours.  So  I  am  pleased  that  the  pilot  program  we  establish  today  to  build  a  dedicated  broadband  network  for  health  care  providers  creatively  pushes  the  envelope  in  an  effort 
 to  spur  the  development  of  tele-  medicine  programs  to  better  serve  rural  America. 
 The  need  for  new  thinking  in  this  area  is  clear.  Over  the  last  10  years,  the  rural  health  care  mechanism  has  disbursed  less  than  10  percent  of  the  $400  million  authorized 
 for  the  program  each  year.  I  don’t  believe  the  foregone  potential  of  this  program  is  what  Congress  or  the  Commission  had  in  mind  when  the  rural  health  care  mechanism  was 
 launched.  Missed  opportunities  are  all  the  more  worrisome  at  a  time  when  bioterror,  naturally-  occurring  health  threats  such  as  E-  coli  0157H7,  an  avian  flu  pandemic,  or  a 
 natural  disaster  like  Hurricane  Katrina  can  wreak  havoc  anywhere  in  America.  One  thing  is  for  sure—  if  a  health  catastrophe  visited  many  of  our  rural  areas  today,  our  rural  health 
 care  system  is  not  generally  equipped  to  deal  with  it. 
 So  I  welcome  this  initiative  and  I  hope  we  will  consider  other  innovative  ways  to  use  this  program  to  advance  rural  health  care.  And  let  me  also  say  how  pleased  I  am  that 
 the  Chairman  and  my  colleagues  have  agreed  to  include  a  requirement  for  the  Commission  to  issue  a  report  based  on  over  a  decade  of  FCC  experience  that  can  advise 
 Congress  and  others  of  what  we  have  learned,  what  has  worked  well,  and  where  legislative  or  administrative  improvements  may  be  needed. 


 I  would  note  that  this  new  initiative  deserves  a  serious  outreach  effort  so  that  all  interested  parties  can  participate;  an  expeditious  but  totally  transparent  application 
 process;  and  careful  selection  of  recipients.  The  item  envisions  a  short  timeframe  for  applicants  so  the  Bureau  needs  to  do  some  extraordinary  outreach  here  beginning  today. 
 A  swift  application  process  has  real  benefits  but  it  must  not  come  at  the  expense  of  a  diverse  pool  of  applicants  from  all  across  the  country  who  could  benefit  from  this 
 initiative. 
 Finally,  after  our  last  rural  health  care  order  in  2004,  legitimate  concerns  were  raised  that  our  current  rules  are  not  as  expansive  as  they  should  be  when  it  comes  to  the 
 types  of  providers,  services,  and  technologies  that  are  covered  by  the  program.  I  would  hope  that  the  Commission  will  quickly  address  these  items  as  they  could  immediately 
 result  in  wider  participation  in  the  program. 
 There  is  no  question  that  healthcare  communications  is  vital  to  both  the  homeland  security  and  economic  security  of  our  citizens.  As  I  have  said  before,  I  want  to  see  this 
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 Agency  commit  to  ensuring  that  every  hospital  and  health  center  in  America  has  a  broadband  connection  by  2010  and  is  fully  integrated  into  an  emergency  response 
 communications  system.  What  a  powerful  achievement  that  would  be.  We  take  an  important  step  towards  this  goal  today,  and  I  am  pleased  to  support  this  item. 
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