Groups Urge FCC to Expand Broadband Access to Improve Maternal Health

Consumer and healthcare organizations encouraged the FCC to use its broadband availability map and affordability programs to expand access and improve maternal health outcomes (see 2311210074). "In order to make sure that women are able to access the health information they need, the commission’s imperative to bridge the digital divide and provide broadband to as many Americans as possible has become increasingly urgent as demand for these services is only growing," the Consumer Technology Association said in reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 23-309. Digital health "may be the solution to lower barriers typically barring women from accessing care they may desire," the group added. The FCC should continue its efforts to expand access to broadband in "rural, low-income, and other particularly vulnerable patient populations," the Virginia Telehealth Network said. "Broadband access can play a role in the improvement of pregnancy-related [maternal and infant] health," said the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. The group recommended that the FCC's maternal health and broadband platform include a broader range of pregnancy-related health indicators.