Any health care provider in the rural area of focus can participate, but only eligible non-profit providers can receive the federal funds. Under Section 254 of the 1996 Telecom Act, the FCC defines a qualified health care provider (HCP) site as a not-for-profit site that provides direct health care, in other words, treats patients.  These include:

• Not-for-profit hospitals, teaching hospitals, and medical schools
• Dedicated emergency departments of rural, for-profit hospitals that participate in Medicare
• Community health centers, including mental health centers
• Rural health clinics, including mobile clinics
• Federally-designated rural health clinics or federally-qualified health clinics
• Health centers providing health care to migrants
• Local health departments or agencies
• Consortia of health care providers consisting of one or more entities described above.

The FCC excludes the following from the list of eligible providers:

• Nursing homes, hospices, other long-term care facilities
• Pharmacies
• Stand-alone emergency medical service facilities (ambulance, EMT, fire stations, etc.)

For-profit health care providers can participate in the network but are not eligible for federal funding and must pay 100% of the fair share of the cost associated with that site