With the increasing demand for digital healthcare, the United States faces a growing challenge regarding equitable healthcare: unequal access to fast, reliable, and affordable broadband technology. Roughly 43 percent of adults in households making less than $30,000 a year—more than 25 million Americans—lack access to broadband, while 93 percent of adults making $100,000 or more have access to high-speed internet at home.[1] New federal funding, authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), has led to the creation of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and the Middle Mile Grant (MMG) programs, which will provide much needed support for connecting marginalized populations across the country. This will enable access to basic mental health resources, telehealth visits, remote monitoring, and access to personal electronic medical records – all of which are shown to improve health outcomes.
Building on existing broadband deployment efforts, these new grants are well-positioned to close the digital divide by investing $65 billion over the next decade to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable, reliable, and high-speed broadband. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is now tasked with administering various funding programs, including the BEAD and MMG programs, which prioritize unserved and underserved communities.
Because NTIA issued its Notice Of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), states are currently in the planning stage of determining how the IIJA grants will be distributed, making now the perfect time to discuss what broadband equity looks like through the digital health lens. On September 22, the App Association’s Connected Health Initiative hosted NTIA BEAD Program Director Evan Feinman and a panel of broadband, health, and social equity experts to explore the path forward for broadband grants; what impact these funds can and should have on the growing healthcare divide in America; and how we can ensure unserved and underserved communities receive these resources.
Gabriel Smith, health fellow from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, stated that “in 2022, not only is broadband a social determinant of health; it’s a super-determinant of health,” a primary and essential service to surviving in the modern world. Telehealth is a vital tool that relies on broadband to provide medical access more easily to the elderly, those with disabilities, those without access to transportation, those who are immune-compromised, and many more. Dr. Karen Rheuban, co-founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Telehealth, expounded on the point that waivers for vital telehealth services (put into place during the COVID-19 public health emergency) must be made permanent to truly help address health disparities worsened by the digital divide. Access to technology is not enough to achieve this without affordability and adoptability. Thus, Medicare and Medicaid can and should extend to cover telehealth services indefinitely for those who cannot afford it. Moreover, intentional and thoughtful community outreach and training should be prioritized, as well, to ensure folks are educated on how to maximize the health benefits of technology. Dr. Nicol Turner Lee of the Brookings Institute rounded out the discussion by emphasizing the need to pursue “purpose-driven equity” to determine how and where these funds should be distributed. When contemplating the basic and fundamental need of healthcare, marginalized populations must be at the forefront of the conversation.
Access to broadband, or lack thereof, impacts Americans living in the most rural of tribal lands, all the way to students at historically black colleges and universities in heavily populated communities. Now is the time to engage with local and state policymakers, community leaders, industry, and others to ensure these federal funds reach the populations that need it the most, bridging the digital health divide. The App Association encourages communities creating and benefitting from digital health innovations to stay involved and active on broadband deployment issues.
Check out the full panel discussion here.
[1] Emily A. Vogels, “Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption,” (June 22, 2021) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/22/digital-divide-persists-even-as-americans-with-lower-incomes-make-gains-in-tech-adoption/