Health Professional Shortage Areas

HPSAs may be designated as having a shortage of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers. They may be urban or rural areas, population groups or medical or other public facilities.

Federal opportunities available to Health Professional Shortage Areas include:

• National Health Service Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs
• Rural Health Clinic
• Medicare Incentive Payments (geographic designations only)
• J-1 visa waiver physician

As of September 30, 2008, in the US, there were:

• 6,033 Primary Care HPSAs with 64 million people living in them. It would take 16,336 practitioners to meet their need for primary care providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 2,000:1).
• 4,048 Dental HPSAs with 48 million people living in them. It would take 9,432 practitioners to meet their need for dental providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 3,000:1).
• 3,059 Mental Health HPSAs with 77 million people living in them. It would take 5,145 practitioners to meet their need for mental health providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 10,000:1).

For more on the HPSA Designation Criteria, Guidelines & Process please click here.

To view the Medicare Learning Network's HPSA Fact Sheet click here.

To search for a shortage designation by a specific address please click here.

To search for a HPSA designation by county please click here.

For more information on how to get an area designated please contact:
Natalie Brown
Shortage Designations and National Health Service Corps Program Director
Indiana Primary Health Care Association
429 N. Pennsylvania St., Ste 333
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Ph: 317-630-0845
Fax: 317-630-0849
nbrown@indianapca.org