The Rural Health Care (RHC) program provides funding to eligible health care providers for telecommunications and broadband services needed to deliver health care. The goal of the program is to improve the quality of health care available to patients in rural communities by ensuring that eligible health care providers have access to telecommunications and broadband services. As an independent not-for-profit organization designated by the FCC, USAC administers the RHC program and all other programs associated with the Universal Service Fund (USF).
- As a member of the UAMS e-Link consortium, you may qualify for USAC support, resulting in significant savings for eligible services and/or network equipment
- UAMS e-Link vendors offer discounted network equipment at 50-75% off list price
- Additional discounts of up to 65% are available for USAC eligible members
- All these discounts can be a game-changer for rural providers
- Examples of Common Products and Services that are typically eligible for support
Are you eligible?
- Must be a public or nonprofit entity
- Must be one of the following:
- A post-secondary educational institution offering healthcare instruction, such as teaching hospitals or medical schools
- A community health center or health center providing healthcare to migrants
- A local health department or agency
- A community mental health center
- A not-for-profit hospital
- A rural health clinic
- A dedicated emergency room of a rural for-profit hospital
- A skilled nursing facility (SNF)
- A consortium of HCPs that includes at least one facility mentioned above
- Must be in a rural location as defined by the FCC. If your site is not in a rural area, it still may be eligible to apply to the HCF Program as part of the e-Link consortium.
How to Determine Eligibility
One benefit of being an e-link Consortium member is that we do all the filing for you for 10% of your organization’s cost savings. We will need a Form 460 completed by you and a signed Letter of Agency (LOA) added to your organization’s letterhead. We file the documents on your behalf to see if your health care organization is eligible for USAC discounts.
e-Link Consortium’s USAC Success Stories
Oklahoma Universities Gain Cost Savings through UAMS e-Link Consortium and Rural Health Care
By April Goode | May 13, 2025 |
Three Oklahoma universities have gained cost savings on their internet services by joining the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) e-Link consortium.
MidAmerica Christian University, Oklahoma Christian University, and Oral Roberts University received a combined discount of $82,909 for fiscal year 2025 on their OneNet internet services by participating in the e-Link Consortium.
e-Link Consortium
UAMS e-Link assists qualified consortium members in applying to receive USAC’s Rural Health Care Connect (RHC) funding for eligible telecommunications/broadband services, cybersecurity, and network equipment.
The e-Link Consortium has more than 600 members in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, and now Oklahoma.
“It has been our pleasure to assist the members of OneNet with the USAC RHC Program,” said Martin Maize, senior program manager for UAMS e-Link. “The UAMS e-Link Consortium takes pride in working with other states to achieve similar goals. We look forward to the continued partnership with members of the OneNet community.”
RHC Discounts
RHC provides a 65% discount on eligible broadband services for rural health care providers. Facilities can apply as an individual provider or part of a consortium of providers. Consortiums, like e-Link, can include providers in both rural and non-rural areas.
Universities offering health care instruction, such as medicine, dentistry and allied health may be eligible to apply for RHC funding.
By joining the consortium, Oklahoma’s universities partnered with UAMS e-Link to complete, submit, and track forms to determine USAC RHC eligibility.
UAMS charges 10% of the cost savings per USAC filing, leaving the universities with significant cost savings.
Oklahoma’s Cost Savings
“At Mid-America Christian University, we are committed to training the workforce of Oklahoma by making higher education more affordable and accessible. Participating in the UAMS e-Link Consortium and receiving the Rural Health Care Program savings allows us to invest even more into our students’ success,” said Jody Allen, chief information officer at MACU. “By reducing technology costs, we can continue to offer a high-quality, low-cost education while delivering the best in modern technology to our students.”
“Oklahoma Christian University is grateful for the opportunity to participate in the RHC program through our partnership with UAMS e-Link” said John Hermes, chief operations officer at OC. “The significant cost savings realized through this collaboration have enhanced our ability to support our health science programs. Strengthening access to high-quality health care education is vital to the future of Oklahoma, and programs like this play a key role in preparing the next generation of health professionals to meet the needs of our state.”
“Oral Roberts University is elated to benefit from the RHC program through our partnership with OneNet” said Michael Mathews, vice president for Global Learning and Innovation at ORU. “The significant cost savings realized will help enable us to support our world-class health science programs. Strengthening access to research and world-class health care education is vital to the future of ORU sustaining the highest rankings in health sciences while preparing the next generation of health professionals.”
OneNet Services for Higher Education
OneNet provides internet and other technology services for the three universities participating in the e-Link Consortium, delivering high-speed connectivity to support education, research, and health care on their campuses.
“We’re glad to see the universities we serve participating in the e-Link Consortium,” said John Hennessey, associate vice chancellor for Information Technology and OneNet. “The cost savings made possible through the RHC discounts enable these institutions to redirect resources to other educational or strategic priorities that support students and enrich learning.”
Request Information
To find out if your organization is eligible for game-changing USAC savings, contact us at 501-526-6933, email UAMSeLink@uams.edu or complete the Request More Information form.