Areas, population groups, and facilities designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas and Medically Underserved Areas or Populations have various programs made available to them for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing primary care infrastructure.  There are more than 37 state and federal programs that depend on shortage and underservice designations as a requirement for eligibility or as a determinant of preference for funding.  Such programs include:

• National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship and Loan Repayment
• NHSC - State Loan Repayment Programs
• Section 330 Health Center Grants
• FQHC Look-Alike Certification
• Medicare Incentive Payments
• Rural Health Clinics Eligibility
• J-1 Visa Waiver or National Interest Waiver for Foreign Born Physicians
• Scoring Preference for Various Title VII & VIII Grants

The programs available to designated areas vary by the type of shortage or underservice designation the area has.  For a look at the designation requirements for some of the more frequently asked about programs, please see the following document: Health-Manpower Shortage Designation Program Requirements.

Web resources for many of these programs are available from the Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) & Medically Underserved Area/Population (MUA/P) Designations main page.