54.601—Eligibility.
(a) Health care providers.
(1)
Except with regard to those services provided under § 54.621(b), only an entity that is either a public or non-profit rural health care provider, as defined in this section, shall be eligible to receive supported services under this subpart.
(i)
Post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, including a teaching hospital or medical school;
(vii)
Consortium of health care providers consisting of one or more entities described in paragraphs (a)(2)(i) through (a)(2)(vi) of this section.
(3)
For purposes of this subpart, a rural health care provider is a public or non-profit health care provider located in a rural area, as defined in this subpart.
(i)
Any health care provider that was located in a rural area under the definition used by the Commission prior to July 1, 2005, and that had received a funding commitment from USAC since 1998, remain eligible for support under this subpart though the funding year ending on June 30, 2011.
(4)
Each separate site or location of a health care provider shall be considered an individual health care provider for purposes of calculating and limiting support under this subpart.
(b) Consortia.
(1)
An eligible health care provider may join a consortium with other eligible health care providers; with schools, libraries, and library consortia eligible under Subpart F; and with public sector (governmental) entities to order telecommunications services. With one exception, eligible health care providers participating in consortia with ineligible private sector members shall not be eligible for supported services under this subpart. A consortium may include ineligible private sector entities if such consortium is only receiving services at tariffed rates or at market rates from those providers who do not file tariffs.
(2)
For consortia, universal service support under this subpart shall apply only to the portion of eligible services used by an eligible health care provider.
(c) Services.
(1)
Any telecommunications service that is the subject of a properly completed bona fide request by a rural health care provider shall be eligible for universal service support, subject to the limitations described in this paragraph. The length of a supported telecommunications service may not exceed the distance between the health care provider and the point farthest from that provider on the jurisdictional boundary of the largest city in a state as defined in § 54.625(a).
(2) Internet access and limited toll-free access to internet.
(i)
For purposes of this subpart, eligible Internet access is an information service that enables rural health care providers to post their own data, interact with stored data, generate new data, or communicate over the World Wide Web.
(iii)
Limited toll-free access to an Internet service provider shall be eligible for universal service support under § 54.621(b).
(d) Allocation of discounts.
An eligible health care provider that engages in eligible and ineligible activities or that collocates with an entity that provides ineligible services shall allocate eligible and ineligible activities in order to receive a prorated discount for eligible activities. Health care providers shall choose a method of cost allocation that is based on objective criteria and reasonably reflects the eligible usage of the facilities.
[62 FR 32948, June 17, 1997, as amended at 64 FR 66787, Nov. 30, 1999; 68 FR 74502, Dec. 24, 2003; 70 FR 6372, Feb. 7, 2005; 73 FR 19438, Apr. 10, 2008]