*Information on the Shortage Designation Modernization Project and National
Shortage Designation Updates
Shortage Area
Designations
Throughout the United States, there are geographic
areas, populations, and facilities with shortages of primary care, dental, and
mental health providers and services. The Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) and State Primary Care Offices, such as the Texas Primary Care Office (TPCO), work together to determine when such a shortage qualifies for designation as
a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), or a Medically Underserved Area/Population
(MUA/P).
The shortage designation process helps target and distribute limited resources to the areas that
need the most assistance with increasing the supply, capacity, and distribution of
health professionals. A HPSA
designation may help a community attract new primary care, mental health, and
dental health workers, as certain
incentive programs are available in designated shortage areas.
It may also increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to professionals
already providing care in a community. Currently,
there are more than 30 federal and state programs which use
shortage designation to determine eligibility.
Priority for these programs are often based on the HPSA Score, which ranges from 0 - 25 for Primary Care and Mental Health, and 0 - 26 for Dental Health. Information on the criteria used for scoring HPSAs can be found on the HRSA Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) website at https://bhw.hrsa.gov/workforce-shortage-areas/shortage-designation/scoring
The TPCO can
assist providers and clinic administrators in determining:
- What, if any
designations
are in their area. - Whether their area may
potentially qualify
for designation. - What d
esignation
types are needed for participation/eligibility for certain federal or state programs
To see information about current shortage designations in Texas, please visit our interactive map.
For assistance
with these needs or any additional questions, contact the TPCO.
Please also see
the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for more
information about shortage designation.
Auto-HPSAs
Based on the statutes, regulations, and program requirements, HRSA automatically designate certain facilities as HPSAs. These Auto-HPSAs do not need to submit an application for designation, but may need to submit data to determine eligibility for HRSA to calculate a score.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) - These are scored at HRSA once an organization receives a Health Center Grant.
- CMS Certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) - Apply for and be approved as a National Health Service Corps site.
- Indian Health Service (IHS) or Tribal Clinics
To have an Auto-HPSA re-scored, submit the request through the Auto-HPSA portal
NOTE: The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) work directly with HRSA for their Correctional Facility Designations. State Correctional facilities should contact the TPCO to determine eligibility for a Correctional Facility HPSA.
Healthcare
Provider Assessment
In addition to population data, an important piece
to shortage designation is healthcare provider information.
HRSA
requires that the Primary Care Offices
regularly evaluates (at least every 24 months) all
primary care, mental health, and dental health providers to assess whether
there is adequate primary medical, dental, or mental health care available
statewide. To do so, the TPCO contacts healthcare facilities
and providers, primarily by phone or fax to conduct the
evaluation on an
ongoing basis. The TPCO relies on timely and accurate responses in order to make clear determinations about whether
or not an area would qualify for a shortage designation.
Help us! If you are a
primary care provider, psychiatrist, dentist or an administrator who works with these types of providers, please
visit the Healthcare Provider Assessment page for information on how to submit updated provider/practice information. The
Healthcare Provider Assessment fillable PDF form that is available on the Healthcare Provider Assessment page will take approximately 5-10
minutes to complete and can be submitted by e-mail or fax.
Have you or
has a provider you work
with moved to a different location? Retired? Working more hours? Working fewer hours? Let us know so we
can better understand the primary care, mental and dental health access for
your community!
The information provided will not be distributed to any other entities; and will only be used to evaluate and/or apply for a HPSA designation.
Please also see the Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) page for more information on the Healthcare
Provider Assessment.
Definitions for commonly used terms and acronyms are on the TPCO Definitions page