We use Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations to identify areas, population groups, or facilities within the United States that are experiencing a shortage of health care professionals.

Geographic HPSAs

Geographic HPSAs have a shortage of services for the entire population within an established geographic area.

Population HPSAs

Population HPSAs have a shortage of services for a specific population subset within an established geographic area.

Frequently Designated Population HPSAs include:

• Medicaid eligible
• Low income
• Migrant farmworker
• Native American/Alaskan Native
• People experiencing homelessness

Facility HPSAs

Facility HPSAs include three categories:

• Other Facility (OFAC)
  Public or non-profit private medical facilities serving a population or geographic area designated as a HPSA with a shortage of health providers.
• Correctional Facility
  Medium to maximum-security federal and state correctional institutions and youth detention facilities with a shortage of health providers.
• State Mental Hospitals
  State or county hospitals with a shortage of psychiatric professionals (mental health designations only).

Automatic Facility HPSAs (Auto-HPSAs)

Some facilities do not have to apply for a designation. They are automatically designated as HPSAs by statute or through regulation. These include:

• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
  Health centers that:
  • Provide primary care to an underserved area or population
  • Offer a sliding fee scale
  • Provide comprehensive services
  • Have an ongoing quality assurance program; and
  • Have a governing board of directors.

  All organizations receiving grants under Health Center Program Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act are FQHCs.

  Read the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)’s Medicare Benefit Policy Manual: Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Services (PDF - 259 KB).

• FQHC Look-A-Likes (LALs)
  Community-based health care providers that meet the requirements of the HRSA Health Center Program, but do not receive Health Center Program funding.
• Indian Health Facilities
  Federal Indian Health Service (IHS), tribally run, and Urban Indian health clinics that provide medical services to members of federally recognized tribes and Alaska Natives.
• IHS and Tribal Hospitals
  Federal Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribally run hospitals that provide inpatient and outpatient medical services to members of federally recognized tribes and Alaska Natives.
• Dual-funded Community Health Centers/Tribal Clinics
  Health centers that receive funding from tribal entities and HRSA to provide medical services to members of federally recognized tribes and Alaska Natives.
• CMS-Certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) that meet National Health Service Corps (NHSC) site requirements
  Outpatient clinics located in non-urbanized areas which CMS certifies as RHCs and meet NHSC Site requirements including accepting Medicaid, CHIP, and providing services on a sliding fee scale.

Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) and Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs)

MUAs and MUPs identify geographic areas and populations with a lack of access to primary care services.

• MUAs have a shortage of primary care health services for residents within a geographic area such as:
  • a whole county;
  • a group of neighboring counties;
  • a group of urban census tracts; or
  • a group of county or civil divisions.

• MUPs have a shortage of primary care health services for a specific population subset within an established geographic area. These groups may face economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to health care.

  Some examples include:

  • People experiencing homelessness
  • Low-income
  • Medicaid-eligible
  • Native American
  • Migrant farmworkers

Governor’s Designated Secretary Certified Shortage Areas for Rural Health Clinics

A State Governor or designee designates these areas as having a shortage according to the state-established shortage plan for the establishment of a Rural Health Clinic.

Which federal programs use shortage designations?

Many federal programs use different types of shortage designations to determine eligibility. Below is a snapshot:

Primary Care