Revised Geographic Eligibility for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grants

HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) has sought to identify clear, consistent, and data-driven methods of defining rural areas in the United States. FORHP uses the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)'s list of counties designated as part of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as the basis for determining eligibility to apply for or receive services funded by its rural health grant programs. FORHP designates all counties that are not part of a MSA as ``rural'' and eligible for rural health grant funding or services. In addition, FORHP designates census tracts within MSAs as rural for grant purposes using Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes. FORHP is proposing modifications to how it designates areas to be eligible for its rural health grant programs so that community organizations serving rural populations within MSAs will be able to apply for resources and allow more of the rural populations within MSAs to access services provided using grant funds. This notice seeks comments on the proposed methodology for designating areas eligible for rural health grant programs.