Today, the FCC is taking action to create a $400 million fund to assist health care providers in obtaining broadband connections.

The Hill reports that the FCC’s strategy is to create a capped fund which will pay for broadband network infrastructure at underserved health centers, including rural facilities.  The FCC has identified 3,600 such facilities. From The Hill:

"The agency will launch a rule-making process on Thursday to create the new fund, building off a pilot program it started three years ago that has helped hospitals and groups of healthcare providers pay for network upgrades but which has been been slow to get money to the people on the ground."

"The permanent program will combat the underuse issue by making more facilities eligible for funding and defraying more costs for participants, who in some instances complained of overhead burdens during the pilot program."

"The FCC thinks the fund is ultimately a cost-saver, with officials estimating that widespread adoption of remote patient monitoring and electronic medical records could save the health care sector $700 billion in the next 15 to 25 years."

Read more about the project here.