§ 54.630   Eligible recipients.

   (a) Rural health care provider site—individual and consortium. Under the
   Healthcare Connect Fund, an eligible rural health care provider may receive
   universal service support by applying individually or through a consortium.
   For purposes of the Healthcare Connect Fund, a “consortium” is a group of
   two or more health care provider sites that request support through a single
   application.  Consortia  may include health care providers who are not
   eligible for support under the Healthcare Connect Fund, but such health care
   providers cannot receive support for their expenses and must participate
   pursuant to the cost allocation guidelines in § 54.639(d).

   (b) Limitation on participation of non-rural health care provider sites in a
   consortium. An eligible non-rural health care provider site may receive
   universal service support only as part of a consortium that includes more
   than 50 percent eligible rural health care provider sites.

   (c) Limitation on large non-rural hospitals. Each eligible non-rural public
   or non-profit hospital site with 400 or more licensed patient beds may
   receive no more than $30,000 per year in Healthcare Connect Fund support for
   eligible recurring charges and no more than $70,000 in Healthcare Connect
   Fund support every 5 years for eligible nonrecurring charges, exclusive in
   both cases of costs shared by the network.

   [ 78 FR 13984 , Mar. 1, 2013]

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