§  54.620   Annual filing requirements and commitments.

   (a) Annual filing requirement. Health care providers seeking support
   under the RHC Program shall file new funding requests for each funding
   year consistent with the filing periods established under this subpart,
   except for health care providers who have received a multi-year funding
   commitment in this section.

   (b) Long-term contracts. If health care providers enter into long-term
   contracts for eligible services, the Administrator shall only commit
   funds to cover the portion of such a long-term contract scheduled to be
   delivered during the funding year for which universal service support
   is sought, except for multi-year funding commitments as described in
   this section.

   (c) Multi-year commitments under the Healthcare Connect Fund Program.
   Participants in the Healthcare Connect Fund Program are permitted to
   enter into multi-year contracts for eligible expenses and may receive
   funding commitments from the Administrator for a period that covers up
   to three years of funding. If a long-term contract covers a period of
   more than three years, the applicant may also have the contract
   designated as "evergreen" under § 54.622(i)(3), which will allow the
   applicant to re-apply for funding under the contract after three years
   without having to undergo additional competitive bidding.