Health Professional Shortage Area
Health Professional Shortage Area & Medically Underserved Area Designations
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) and Medically Underserved Areas (MUA) established under the U.S. Public Health Service Act are federal designations of a geographic area (usually a county or a number of townships or census tracts) which meet the criteria as needing additional primary health care services. These designations are based on the availability of health professional resources within a rational service area. Primary Care, Dental and Mental Health HPSAs also look at practitioners within a thirty minute travel time. MUA designations consider physicians within the rational service area along with infant mortality, population over age 65 and poverty rate. Designations usually are geographic areas, but may apply to population groups and facilities. The Shortage Designation Branch within the Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for the designation process. The Indiana State Department of Health, Primary Care Office submits the HPSA and MUA designation requests and updates to the Shortage Designation Branch. The Indiana Primary Health Care Association is contracted to do the Indiana designation work. For information on designations contact:
Natalie Brown, MPH
Shortage Designations and National Health Service Corps Program Director
Indiana Primary Health Care Association
1006 E. Washington Street, Suite 200 Indianapolis, IN 46202
Ph: (317) 630-0845 / Fax: (317) 630-0849
nbrown@indianapca.org
Federal opportunities available to Health Professional Shortage Areas include:
- National Health Service Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs,
- Rural Health Clinic ,
- Medicare Incentive Payments
- J-1 visa waiver physician
Federal opportunities available to Medically Underserved Areas/Medically Underserved Populations include:
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) grants for the planning, development, or operation of community health centers under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act;
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) Look alikes which meet the definition of community health center but are not funded but receive some benefits of FQHCs
- J-1 visa waiver physicians
Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas
Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas - MAP
Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas
Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas - MAP
Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas
Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas - MAP
Medically Underserved Areas
Medically Underserved Areas - MAP
HPSA/MUA Process
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