Sec. 69.618  Rural Health Care Corporation functions.

    (a) The Rural Health Care Corporation shall perform the following 
functions as they relate to the support mechanisms for eligible rural 
health care providers:
    (1) Administering the application process for rural health care 
providers, including the dissemination, processing, and review of 
applications for service from rural health care providers;
    (2) Creating and maintaining a website on which applications for 
services will be posted on behalf of rural health care providers;
    (3) Performing outreach and public education functions;
    (4) Reviewing bills for services that are submitted by rural health 
care providers on which service providers designate the amount of 
universal service support they should receive for services rendered and 
on which rural health care providers and confirm that they have received 
such services;
    (5) Monitoring demand for the purpose of determining when the $400 
million cap has been reached in the case of the rural health care 
providers program;
    (6) Submitting to the Commission all quarterly projections of demand 
and administrative expenses, as described in Sec. 54.709(a)(3) of this 
chapter;
    (7) Informing the independent subsidiary, as quickly as possible, 
but no later than 20 days following the Rural Health Care Corporation's 
receipt of the bills for services, of the amount of universal service 
support to be disbursed to service providers;
    (8) Authorizing the performance of audits of rural health care 
provider beneficiaries of universal service support; and
    (9) Any other function relating to the administration of the rural 
health care program that is not specifically assigned to the independent 
subsidiary.
    (b) The Rural Health Care Corporation shall maintain books of 
account separate from those of the association, the independent 
subsidiary, and the Schools and Libraries Corporation. The Rural Health 
Care Corporation's books of account shall be maintained in accordance 
with generally accepted accounting principles.
    (c) The Rural Health Care Corporation may borrow start-up funds from 
the association or the independent subsidiary, but such funds may not 
come from the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) fund or TRS 
administrative expense accounts.
    (d) The Rural Health Care Corporation shall make available to 
whomever the Commission directs, free of charge, any and all 
intellectual property, including, but not limited to, all records and 
information generated by or resulting from its role in administering the 
rural health care program, if its participation in administering the 
rural health care program ends. The Rural Health Care Corporation must 
specify any property it proposes to exclude from the foregoing types of 
property based on the existence of such property prior to the 
incorporation of the Rural Health Care Corporation.

[ 62 FR 41309 , Aug. 1, 1997]