Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

ID · Healthcare shortage profile

Gem County, ID

Home to 19,123 residents, with 3 active HRSA shortage designations.

Active HPSAs
3
Population
19,123
Peak shortage score
12.0
MUA Index
53.8
ID state overview → About this data

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Gem County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 3 active HPSA designations, more than 20% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

3
Active HPSA designations
2
Primary-care shortages
12
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 80%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Gem County, ID on its own pages , computed from the retained designation mirror as of 2026-08-15. Each line carries its own denominator so it can be quoted as it stands.

  1. 66.7% of Gem County's 3 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 3).

  2. Closing Gem County's active designations would take about 9 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.7 primary care, 7.3 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. Peak HPSA score 12.0 sits below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.

    Below-17 designations still count as shortages for program geography, but they do not clear the high-priority NHSC placement threshold on this release.

Corpus placement

Designated volume without a high-priority score

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Gem County carries 3 active designations, above 20% of real US counties. None of those scores clear HRSA's high-priority line of 17 on this release, so the page leads with severity reading rather than a national distribution chart.

State peer position. Gem County falls in the lower half of ID counties by active-designation volume, at rank 32 of 44. Ties share a rank.

Computed from current designated HPSA rows for every five-digit county FIPS. See the placement methodology.

Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 16045. Population: 19,123.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 53.8

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 12.0
Mental Health 8.0

Current designated records only. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?

Highest-severity HPSA designations

All 3 active (designated) HPSAs in Gem County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI-Southeast Emmet primary_care 12.0
LI-Emmett Bench-Sweet Ccd primary_care 9.0
District 3 - Southwest Mental Health Catchment Area mental_health 8.0

Light-burden reading for Gem County

Primary care is where Gem County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 12.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Mental health reads 8.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 53.8, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Gem County carries 3 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 20% of counties). A light footprint still matters: a single high-score dental or mental-health record can open program geography even when the county total looks small next to heavy peers.

Gem County falls in the lower half of ID counties by active-designation volume, at rank 32 of 44. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.

Clinician FTE gap by care type

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Gem County's active designations: a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Nationwide counties with similar HRSA profiles

Two peer sets for Gem County: active designation volume and primary-care HPSA score, ranked across the national county corpus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gem County a Medically Underserved Area?

Yes, Gem County is designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by HRSA. The MUA Index for this county is 53.8. MUA designation qualifies the area for enhanced federal funding and provider incentive programs.

How many healthcare shortage areas does Gem County have?

Gem County, ID has 3 Health Professional Shortage Area designations: 2 in primary care, 1 in mental health, and 0 in dental care, according to HRSA data.

What does Gem County's HPSA score of 12.0 mean?

12.0 in primary care falls under 17, so the shortage is formally designated but outside HRSA's high-priority tier.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 16045. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.