Responding to public requests, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have extended until May 29, 2008, the comment period on the proposed rule “Designation of Medically Underserved Populations (MUP) and Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA).” HRSA extended the comment period in response to concerns that publication of the proposed rule has created misapprehension among health center grantees regarding their ability to meet the proposed MUP/HPSA designation criteria--in particular, their eligibility for current or expanded health center funding opportunities.
The proposed rule is intended to improve the way underserved areas are designated by simplifying and consolidating two processes of determining underserved areas into one, improving the identification of areas of need, and reducing the data reporting burden for obtaining designations. Read the proposed rule.
