Site and Service Substitutions

Site and service substitutions allow the applicant to reallocate un-invoiced committed funds to substitute services, modify or upgrade services, or provide the requested services to other eligible sites (consortia). Substitutions provide the flexibility for applicants to spend all the committed funds, even though USAC-supported services or the service location may change over the course of the funding commitment. All site and service substitutions changes must be requested by the service delivery deadline.

Consortia Applicants

You may request a site and service substitution if:

• the substitution is provided for in the contract, within the change clause, or constitutes a minor modification,
• the site is an eligible health care provider (HCP), and the service is an eligible service under the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program,
• the substitution does not violate any contract provision or state, Tribal, or local procurement laws, and
• the requested change is within the scope of the controlling FCC Form 461 (Request for Services Form), including any applicable Request for Proposal (RFP) used in the competitive bidding process.

HCF Program Individual Applicants

You may request a service substitution if:

• the substitution is provided for in the contract, within the change clause, or constitutes a minor modification,
• the service is an eligible service under the HCF Program,
• the substitution does not violate any contract provision or state, Tribal, or local procurement laws, and
• the requested change is within the scope of the controlling request for services, including any applicable request for proposal used in the competitive bidding process.

Telecom Program Applicants

FCC Report and Order 19-78 aligned the HCF Program rules for site and service substitutions with the Telecom Program. Telecom Program applicants may request a service substitution for their approved funding commitments. To submit a service substitution for an FCC Form 466:

• Log into My Portal.
• Click on the “Substitution” button located under the “Create 467” button.
• Enter a description of the requested substitution in the notes field.
• Upload any supporting documentation.
• Recertify the FCC Form 466 and submit it for review.

Things to Know

• Substitution modifications cannot exceed the approved funding amount.
• Please keep in mind that site and service substitutions take a minimum of 90 days to process.
• Substitutions must be submitted by the service delivery deadline.

To review the step-by-step process, use the RHC Connect User Guide – Post-Commitment Change Request User Guide or the Post-Commitment Change Requests video.

The material on these web pages is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting the RHC program rules, orders, and other primary sources of information. Applicants and service providers are ultimately responsible for knowing and complying with all RHC program rules and procedures.