FCC Begins Virus Telehealth Push as Eligibility Questions Linger

Health providers can apply starting Monday for $200 million in telehealth funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic, even as they fault eligibility restrictions and wrestle to apply regulations for using the aid.

The eligibility and regulatory questions highlight the challenges the government faces in quickly distributing aid intended to fund broadband-connected devices such as video apps that allow long-distance consultations and pulse oximeters that measure blood oxygen levels.

The Federal Communications Commission has said it will distribute the $200 million on a rolling basis with no single project likely to receive more than $1 million. The FCC, in an April ...