Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)

HPSAs are defined in Section 332 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 254e to include: (1) geographic areas, (2) population groups, and (3) facilities with shortages of health professionals.  Federal designation as a HPSA documents a shortage of health care providers (primary care, dental or mental health) as well as the existence of barriers to accessing care including lack of public transportation, travel time and distance to the next source of undesignated care, and high poverty.

Geographic HPSAs have a shortage of providers for an entire group of people within a defined geographic area

Population HPSAs have a shortage of providers for a specific group of people within a defined geographic area (e.g., low-income, migrant farm workers)

Facility HPSAs are public or non-profit private medical facilities serving a population or geographic area with a shortage of providers and include:

• Correctional Facilities – Medium and maximum security federal and state correctional institutions and Youth detention facilities

• State Mental Hospitals - State hospitals with a shortage of psychiatrists (mental health designations only)

• Automatic Facility HPSAs (Auto-HPSAs) - Facilities that HRSA automatically designates as HPSAs based on statute or through regulation including:
• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
• FQHC Look-A-Likes (LALs)
• Indian Health Facilities
• IHS and Tribal Hospitals
• Dual-funded Community Health Centers/Tribal Clinics, and
• CMS-Certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

To find out if a specific address is in a HPSA: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/by-address

To find a HPSA by state/county, whether a facility has a HPSA score, or as verification that the address checked in the site above is a designated HPSA:  https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/hpsa-find

Medically Underserved Area or Population (MUA/P)

MUAs and MUPs identify geographic areas and populations with a lack of access to primary care services. These designations help establish health maintenance organizations or community health centers.

MUAs have a shortage of primary care health services within geographic areas 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 a geographic area. These groups may face economic, cultural, or language barriers to health care.

Some examples include:

• People experiencing homelessness
• People who are low-income
• People who are eligible for Medicaid
• Native Americans
• Migrant farmworkers 

To find an MUA/P by state/county: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/mua-find

Maternity Care Target Area (MCTA)

A Maternity Care Health Professional Target Area (MCTA) is an area within an existing Primary Care HPSA that is experiencing a shortage of maternity health care professionals.

Programs that use HPSAs or MCTAs:

• National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
• Nurse Corps
• Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program
• CMS Rural Health Clinic Program
• Florida Reimbursement Assistance for Medical Education (FRAME) program
• J-1 Visa Waivers
• Physician National Interest Waivers

Programs that use MUA/MUPs:

• Health Center Program
• CMS Rural Health Clinic Program
• Physician National Interest Waivers

There is a new process to request a new HPSA/MUA or to request an update to an existing HPSA/MUA.

• The HPSA Request Form should be completed and submitted to the PCO for area and population HPSAs. The request will be reviewed, and you will be notified when the status of the review is changed.

• The MUA/P Request Form should be completed and submitted to the PCO. The request will be reviewed, and you will be notified when the status of the review is changed.