Medically underserved population
Medically underserved population means the population of an urban or rural area designated by the Secretary as an area with a shortage of personal health services or a population group designated by the Secretary as having a shortage of such services. Medically underserved areas will be designated by the Secretary and a list of those designated will be published in the Federal Register from time to time, taking into consideration the following factors, among others:
(1) Available health resources in relation to size of the area and its population, including appropriate ratios of primary care physicians in general or family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, or obstetrics and gynecology to population;
(2) Health indices for the population of the area, such as infant mortality rate;
(3) Economic factors affecting the population's access to health services, such as percentage of the population with incomes below the poverty level; and
(4) Demographic factors affecting the population's need and demand for health services, such as percentage of the population age 65 and over.