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PSC approves up to $1 million in telemedicine equipment grants to top scoring projects
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Summary
The Public Service Commission voted unanimously to award up to $1,000,000 in telemedicine equipment grants to the highest-ranked applicants, with partial awards conditioned on revised budgets and delegated authority for follow-up awards if grantees decline.
The Public Service Commission voted on April 23 to approve awarding telemedicine equipment grants for fiscal years 2026–2027, moving to allocate up to $1,000,000 to the highest-ranked applications to expand medical telecommunications access in rural and underserved areas. Chair Strand said the program is authorized under Wisconsin Statute §196.218(4)(u) and Wis. Admin. Code §PSC 160.115 and is funded from the Wisconsin Universal Service Fund.
Strand told commissioners the commission received 21 applications requesting $2,637,331 and that a screening panel scored 13 applications at 47 points or higher. "Given the amount of interest this grant round received, so we got 21 applications totaling $2,637,331 in requests," Strand said, arguing in favor of awarding the full $1,000,000 to the top 10 scoring projects to ensure geographic diversity and to fund new applicants.
The chair recommended full awards to a set of top-scoring applicants named in commission materials and partial awards to the Great Lakes Intertribal Council (GLITC) and a Chippewa tribal health clinic; partial awards to the latter would be conditioned on submission of a revised, detailed budget. Strand said the commission would delegate authority to the Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) administrator to review and approve any revised budgets required under the partial-award condition so that execution of grant agreements would not necessarily need to return to the full commission.
Commissioner Nieto and Commissioner Hawkins both endorsed the chair's approach, citing prior successful curing and delegation practices used in other grant programs. Nieto said the curing process "has worked really well" and supported both the conditional partial award approach and delegating authority to the administrator to make additional awards in order of merit if initial awardees decline.
The commission voted on a motion to approve the telemedicine equipment grants consistent with the discussion; the motion passed unanimously.
The approved grants will have a two-year performance period from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. The commission directed staff to include conditions in the order requiring the partially funded applicant to submit a revised budget and authorized the administrator to approve cure materials where appropriate. The commission also directed that additional awards, if needed, be made in rank order of merit under delegated authority.
Next steps: staff will draft the order and implement the delegated review process described by the commission. The commission did not provide a detailed dollar-by-dollar award list in the oral record; the final award amounts and any required budget submissions will be reflected in the commission's written order and docket filings.
