Shortage Designations

Medically Underserved Areas (MUA) and Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA), established under the U.S. Public Health Service Act (Sections 330 and 332), are federal designations of a geographic area (usually a county or a collection of townships or census tracts) which meet the federally-established criteria as needing additional primary health care services.

Federal designation as a MUA or a HPSA is based on measures of the availability of health professional resources within a rational service area. The definition of a rational service area may be:

An entire county
An area whose population has similar socioeconomic characteristics which result in its being isolated from nearby resources (e.g. poverty rates, racial or ethnic composition)
An area that has physical barriers which result in the population being isolated from nearby resources (e.g. bodies of water and interstate highways)
Established neighborhoods and communities within metropolitan areas which display strong self-identity (e.g. interdependency, homogenous structure)

Other factors considered in the designation process are the availability of primary health care resources in contiguous areas and the presence of high need indicators, such as high infant mortality rate or high poverty rate.

An amendment to Section 330 instituted a Medically Underserved Population (MUP) designation for a population that faces significant barriers to accessing primary health care services. HPSA designations usually apply to geographic areas, but may apply to population groups or facilities.

The Shortage Designation Branch of the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Bureau of Health Professions, Healthcare Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for the designation process.

Information on Shortage Designations

Click Here to determine if your community is designated as a HPSA
Click Here to access a search engine to determine if your community is designated as a MUA or MUP
Click Here to determine the census tract of a particular address
Additional Shortage Designation Lists
Description of the Criteria for Applying for a Shortage esignation

Information on Michigan Shortage Designations

Map of Medically Underserved Areas/Populations in Michigan (April 2008)
List of Designated MUAs & MUPs in Michigan (February 2007)
Map of Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in Michigan (November 2007)
List of Designated Primary Medical Care HPSAs in Michigan (February 2007)
Map of Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in Michigan (November 2007)
List of Designated Dental HPSAs in Michigan (February 2007)
Map of Mental Health Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in Michigan (November 2007)
List of Designated Mental Health Care HPSAs in Michigan (February 2007)

MPCA members should call or email Jon Villasurda, Health Assessment Program Specialist, at (517) 381-8000 for assistance.

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Shortage Designations

Information on Shortage Designations

Information on Michigan Shortage Designations

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