A bill to improve rural medical data and information transmission, and for other purposes.
Health Link Improvements Act of 1989 - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to direct the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration to maintain a subaccount within the Rural Electrification and Telephone Revolving Fund to provide grants and reduced interest loans to eligible entities to improve telecommunication links, patient transportation facilities, and other cooperative activities between rural hospitals or physicians, teaching hospitals or major medical hospitals, and rural electric or telephone borrowers.
Sets forth eligibility criteria. Requires the grants and loans to be used to improve: (1) the transmission of medical information through the telecommunications linking of hospitals and physicians in rural counties with teaching hospitals or medical centers; and (2) patient access to medical services by developing patient transportation such as helicopter landing sites, patient shuttle services, and mobile medical clinics.
Directs the Administrator to maintain a subaccount to provide grants and reduced interest loans to fund demonstration projects to improve telecommunication links between rural hospitals or physicians, teaching hospitals or major medical hospitals, and rural electric or telephone borrowers.
Prohibits use of funds under these provisions for certain telecommunications facilities if: (1) a local exchange carrier providing telephone service agrees to provide such facilities; and (2) other conditions are met.
Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994.
Similiar Provisions Included In H.R.4793 (Title III).
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
Committee on Agriculture. Provisions of measure incorporated into measure S. 1036 ordered to be reported.
checking server…
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line