Ariz. Admin. Code § R9-24-204 - Primary Care Area Boundaries Determination

A. The Department shall determine the boundaries of primary care areas for the entire state. A primary care area's boundaries shall meet the following requirements:

1. The geographic area within the boundaries corresponds to or is larger than a census tract identified for the geographic area in the most recent American Community Survey prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau;

2. The boundaries are consistent with the population's primary care services utilization patterns; and

3. The primary care utilization patterns are determined by considering:

a. The geographic area's:

i. Topography,

ii. Social and cultural relationships of the people living within the geographic area,

iii. Political subdivision boundaries, and

iv. Travel patterns; and

b. Data about the type, amount, and location of primary care services used by the geographic area's population, obtained from local planning personnel, government officials, health organizations, primary care physicians, and residents of the geographic area.

B. In addition to the requirements for primary care area boundaries in subsection (A), the Department shall consider:

1. Indian reservation boundaries, and

2. Primary care HPSA boundaries.

C. Without receiving a primary care area boundary change request under subsection (D), the Department may redetermine the boundaries of one or more primary care areas according to the requirements and considerations in subsections (A) and (B).

D. A primary care area's local planning personnel, government officials, health organizations, primary care providers, or residents may submit to the Department a primary care area boundary change request.

1. A person requesting a boundary change shall:

a. Make the request in writing,

b. Include documentation supporting the boundary change, and

c. Submit the request by October 1 to be considered for inclusion in the next calendar year's Arizona medically underserved area designation process.

2. The Department shall review a primary care area boundary change request according to the time-frames in R9-24-205 .

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R9-24-204

Adopted effective July 27, 1978 (Supp. 78-4). R9-24-204 recodified from R9-24-124 (Supp. 95-2). Section repealed; new Section adopted by final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 715, effective January 17, 2001 (Supp. 01-1). Amended by final rulemaking 12 A.A.R. 3048, effective September 30, 2006 (Supp. 06-3). Amended by final expedited rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 1969, effective 9/4/2020.