| 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:
- Whole 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.
For the most recent information on shortage designations please
visit:
To access a search engine to determine if your community is designated
as a HPSA
http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov
To access a search engine to determine if your community is designated
as a MUA/Ps
http://muafind.hrsa.gov
To determine the census tract of a particular address
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/AGSGeoAddressServlet?_lang=en&_programYear=50&_treeId=420
For additional shortage designation lists
http://www.michigan.gov/hpsa
For a complete description of the criteria for applying for a shortage
designation
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/shortage/hpsacrit.htm
MPCA members should call DeAnna
Warren at (517) 381-8000 x203 for assistance.
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