KY · Healthcare shortage profile
Letcher County, KY
Home to 21,548 residents, with 6 active HRSA shortage designations.
- Active HPSAs
- 6
- Population
- 21,548
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 48.2
Mid-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Letcher County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 6 active HPSA designations, more than 54% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 6
- Active HPSA designations
- 2
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 46%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Letcher County, KY 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.
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33.3% of Letcher County's 6 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).
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Closing Letcher County's active designations would take about 5.8 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 2.3 primary care, 1 mental health, 2.5 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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Peak HPSA score 25.0 clears HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.
Scores at or above 17 on the 0–25/26 scales open NHSC placement priority for the matching provider type; eligibility still follows the designated area, not the county boundary alone.
Corpus placement
Active-designation volume placement
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Letcher County carries 6 active designations, above 54% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Letcher County falls in the upper half of KY counties by active-designation volume, at rank 32 of 120. 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: 21133. Population: 21,548.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA scores
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 6 active (designated) HPSAs in Letcher County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation | dental | 25.0 |
| Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation | mental_health | 22.0 |
| LI - Letcher County | dental | 19.0 |
| Letcher County | mental_health | 18.0 |
| LI-Letcher County | primary_care | 16.0 |
Moderate-burden reading for Letcher County
Dental care carries Letcher County's deepest shortage reading, 25.0 on HRSA's 0–26 dental scale, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 22.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 48.2, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Letcher County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 54% of counties) with 6 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.
Letcher County falls in the upper half of KY counties by active-designation volume, at rank 32 of 120. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.
Letcher County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Primary care
Primary care
2 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
2 designations
- Dental
Dental
2 designations
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Letcher County, KY · 2026 HRSA designation data updated quarterly; HPSA scores 0-25 (primary/mental) and 0-26 (dental); higher = greater shortage severity. Coverage tiers from U.S. Census ACS PUMS + KFF state tracker.
Acting on Letcher County's designations
Letcher County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Letcher County's 6 active designations make providers here eligible for National Health Service Corps loan repayment, estimate the award and service terms. NHSC estimator
- See how the county's primary care burden compares with the rest of KY before you draw conclusions from a single score. KY overview
- Check whether an area clears HRSA's 3,500:1 population-to-provider threshold with the provider-to-population ratio behind an HPSA score. HPSA score lookup
HPSA scores describe shortage severity within HRSA's designation criteria, not the availability of any individual provider. For a specific appointment, contact a provider or your insurer; use HRSA's current tools to verify a designation.
Nearby dental score peers
Closest U.S. counties on active dental HPSA score to Letcher County's 25.0. Open Miami-Dade County, FL or Tarrant County, TX next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Letcher County a Medically Underserved Area?
Yes, Letcher County is designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by HRSA. The MUA Index for this county is 48.2. MUA designation qualifies the area for enhanced federal funding and provider incentive programs.
How many healthcare shortage areas does Letcher County have?
Letcher County, KY has 6 Health Professional Shortage Area designations: 2 in primary care, 2 in mental health, and 2 in dental care, according to HRSA data.
What does Letcher County's HPSA score of 25.0 mean?
25.0 in dental care clears 17, HRSA's high-priority line, which is what makes providers here eligible for NHSC placement and enhanced reimbursement.
What healthcare providers are needed in Letcher County?
Based on HRSA shortage designations, Letcher County needs additional providers in primary care (family physicians, internists, pediatricians), mental health (psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers), and dental care (dentists, dental hygienists). The National Health Service Corps offers loan repayment and scholarship programs for providers who serve in designated shortage areas.
Next read: Dental Shortage in America · KY state overview · NHSC loan repayment
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 21133. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) , BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH.csv (dental) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the HRSA Data Warehouse. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →
Every figure on PlainHealthAccess is rendered directly from HRSA source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page counts active HPSA rows for FIPS 21133 (Letcher County, KY) from the current HRSA release and places that total among all real US counties. Designations describe federal shortage criteria, not appointment availability or care quality for any person. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, review the public data changelog, or report a data issue for this page. Data current as of 2026-08-15.