PlainHealthAccess is a free informational resource that makes public HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and Medically Underserved Area (MUA) data easier to read. It is not medical advice and does not certify the quality or availability of care in any area. Use it as a starting point for your own research, not as the final word on where to seek care.

Informational only, not medical advice

Nothing on PlainHealthAccess constitutes medical, clinical, or professional advice, and using the site does not create any professional relationship. Decisions about where to seek treatment, whether a community has adequate care, or how to act on a shortage designation can have real health consequences. For guidance about your care, consult a qualified healthcare provider or your insurer. For official designation status, rely on HRSA's HPSA Finder directly. In a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room — do not use this site to decide whether to seek emergency care.

What shortage-area data is, and is not

The HPSA scores and designations on PlainHealthAccess are federal eligibility determinations, not a measure of the care any individual patient will receive. A Health Professional Shortage Area is designated when an area, population group, or facility meets HRSA's provider-to-population and access criteria; the score (0–25, or 0–26 for dental) ranks shortage severity for the purpose of prioritizing federal resources. A designation does not mean there are no providers in an area, and the absence of a designation does not mean access is adequate for everyone. Population-in-shortage figures are estimates derived from the residents of counties carrying a geographic designation, not a precise count of people unable to obtain care. MUA status reflects the Index of Medical Underservice, a composite of four variables, not a real-time assessment of local services.

Data freshness and accuracy

HRSA reviews designations on a rolling basis and publishes updated files periodically, so the figures on a page reflect the most recent official export we have loaded. Designations are added, renewed, and withdrawn continuously, and there may be a lag between an official change and its reflection here. We work to keep the data accurate and aligned with the source, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current, or free of upstream limitations. If you spot a figure that looks wrong, please report it through our corrections process.

Before you act on shortage data

Treat PlainHealthAccess as one input among several. Before you rely on what you read here, we recommend you also:

• Confirm an area's current designation status on the official HRSA HPSA Finder, which is authoritative for active designations.
• Talk to a healthcare provider or your insurer about availability of care for your specific needs.
• Check what providers are actually in your insurance network and accepting patients — a designation does not tell you which clinics are open to you.
• Look at the designation type and score most relevant to your situation (primary care, dental, or mental health), since an area can be short on one and not another.

No affiliation

PlainHealthAccess is an independent publisher. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by HRSA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or any government agency. Outbound links to official sources are provided for verification and do not imply any partnership.

Questions

Questions about how to use this data, or about a specific figure, are welcome at hello@plainhealthaccess.com. See also our editorial & corrections policy and methodology.