Home / Open for comment / Closed

PROPOSED RULECOMMENTS CLOSED SEPTEMBER 30, 2026

Promoting Telehealth in Rural America

Federal Communications Commission

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comments on the scope of the similar service and rural area comparability requirements, comments on possible improvements to, or replacements of, our existing cost study method of determining rural telecommunications rates, comments on possible methods of promoting the use of lower-cost technologies intended to provide backup services, comments on a proposal to establish an eligible services list for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, comments on whether to adopt performance metrics to expedite the processing of RHC Program funding requests, and comments on whether to eliminate the approval requirement of evergreen contracts and an annual report requirement.

Published August 31, 2026Document 2026-17767

What happens next

The comment period closed on September 30, 2026. The agency now reviews the comments. If it goes ahead, it publishes a final rule in the Federal Register that responds to significant comments. We link it here when it appears. See what is open for comment now.

From the Federal Register as of November 3, 2026. Deadlines can change; the official document governs. Not legal advice.

Know someone following this?

Send them the page so they can check the source and the deadline.