GCI Takes Issue With Bureau's Rural Health Care Funding Cut; FCC Defends Move
General Communication Inc. blasted an FCC cut in its rural healthcare funding by 26 percent to $78 million for funding year 2017 (see 1810110062). The Wireline Bureau action exceeds its authority "and is based upon unreasonable and unexplained interpretations," and…
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"means GCI will not be compensated for services that have already been delivered to rural health care providers," said the Alaska carrier Friday, noting it intends to pursue all available remedies. President Greg Chapados said the decision "ignores the fact that our services are competitively bid in a competitive market. It also fails to provide any compelling explanation of the methodology behind the reduction in support payments. It does not even set forth the specifics of the methodology.” The Senate moved Thursday to recess until after November elections without confirming Commissioner Brendan Carr to a full five-year term ending in 2023 because of a hold over concerns raised by Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, both R-Alaska, about FCC handling of RHC funding. The senators told us they believe further action to address their concerns is needed beyond granting GCI's funds. An FCC spokesperson emailed: "Carriers that participate in the rural health care program must comply with the Commission's rules, and GCI's requests for funding did not comply with the Commission's rules. But rather than denying GCI's funding requests outright, as could have been done, Commission staff spent an enormous amount of time working with GCI to obtain the information necessary so that CGI could be provided with all justifiable funding, which was $77.8 million of the $105 million originally sought. This process was delayed in some cases by GCI's failure to provide information to Commission staff in a prompt manner and in other cases by GCI providing the Commission staff with inaccurate information."