Health Professional Shortage Areas and
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations Designation
Health Professional Shortage Areas
The Alaska Primary Care Office makes recommendations to the Bureau of Health Professions, Shortage Designation Branch, on areas and/or populations within the state that are considered to be Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). HPSAs are geographic areas and/or populations which have unmet needs for primary care, dental, and/or behavioral health services.
HPSA designations have an impact on eligibility determinations for primary care grants, special payments to providers for seeing Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, securing assistance from the National Health Service Corps, as well as many other federal and state programs. (See the list of federal Programs using HPSA and MUA/P Designations.)
PCO staff submit HPSA applications to HRSA based upon provider to population ratios, poverty levels, geographic factors, several health status measures, and other barriers to care. The HRSA Shortage Designation Branch reviews the application and makes the final HPSA determination.
Under the Health Resources & Services Administration’s regulations, certain health care facilities are automatically designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas. These are Auto-HPSAs. In Alaska, this means Federally Qualified Health Centers, as well as Alaska Native Tribal/Native American populations; including Indian Health Service clinics, tribally run clinics, tribal health centers and urban Indian organizations.
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations
The Alaska Primary Care Office (APCO) recommend to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration's Shortage Designation Branch which areas should be designated Medically Underserved Areas/ Populations (MUA/Ps) within Alaska.
Applicants for community health center grant funding or who are interested in receiving certification as a Federally Qualified Health Center are required to demonstrate that they are serving, or will serve, a designated MUA/P.
APCO staff assists in developing MUA/P applications based upon available data and the priority of unmet needs on behalf of communities and facilities.
Shortage Designation Criteria
Contact
Judy Holland, Primary Care Office Program Manager
Judy.Holland@alaska.gov
907-334-2669
