California has the most areas facing shortages of primary care providers of all U.S. states, according to a ranking Kaiser Family Foundation released Nov. 11.
The ranking is based on a quarterly summary of designated Health Professional Shortage Area statistics published Sept. 30 by HHS, the Bureau of Health Workforce and the Health Resources and Services Administration. The HPSA designation is given to areas where the population-to-provider ratio for primary care is at least 3,500 to 1.
In total, there are 7,447 areas with an HPSA designation in the U.S., covering a population of 83.7 million people. The nation would need 14,858 more practitioners to remove HPSA designations from these areas.
Here's how each state stacks up:
Note: The list includes ties and results in a numerical listing of 49.
1. California
Areas with an HPSA designation: 643
Practitioners needed: 1,402
2. Texas
Areas with an HPSA designation: 424
Practitioners needed: 969
3. Missouri
Areas with an HPSA designation: 327
Practitioners needed: 491
4. Alaska
Areas with an HPSA designation: 301
Practitioners needed: 58
5. Florida
Areas with an HPSA designation: 276
Practitioners needed: 1,505
6. Michigan
Areas with an HPSA designation: 269
Practitioners needed: 482
7. Illinois
Areas with an HPSA designation: 263
Practitioners needed: 534
8. Georgia
Areas with an HPSA designation: 243
Practitioners needed: 673
9. Arizona
Areas with an HPSA designation: 236
Practitioners needed: 653
10. North Carolina
Areas with an HPSA designation: 213
Practitioners needed: 416
11. Washington
Areas with an HPSA designation: 203
Practitioners needed: 626
12. Kentucky
Areas with an HPSA designation: 191
Practitioners needed: 202
13. Kansas
Areas with an HPSA designation: 184
Practitioners needed: 121
14. Oklahoma
Areas with an HPSA designation: 183
Practitioners needed: 289
15. Minnesota
Areas with an HPSA designation: 181
Practitioners needed: 116
16. New York
Areas with an HPSA designation: 175
Practitioners needed: 1,189
17. Louisiana
Areas with an HPSA designation: 160
Practitioners needed: 256
18. Ohio
Areas with an HPSA designation: 158
Practitioners needed: 258
19. Mississippi
Areas with an HPSA designation: 153
Practitioners needed: 283
20. Oregon
Areas with an HPSA designation: 149
Practitioners needed: 157
21. Pennsylvania
Areas with an HPSA designation: 143
Practitioners needed: 101
22. Montana
Areas with an HPSA designation: 142
Practitioners needed: 78
23. Tennessee
Areas with an HPSA designation: 133
Practitioners needed: 259
24. Iowa
Areas with an HPSA designation: 132
Practitioners needed: 104
25. Virginia
Areas with an HPSA designation: 124
Practitioners needed: 205
26. Colorado
Areas with an HPSA designation: 120
Practitioners needed: 260
27. Indiana
Areas with an HPSA designation: 115
Practitioners needed: 193
28. West Virginia
Areas with an HPSA designation: 110
Practitioners needed: 135
Wisconsin
Areas with an HPSA designation: 110
Practitioners needed: 151
29. Alabama
Areas with an HPSA designation: 104
Practitioners needed: 301
30. South Carolina
Areas with an HPSA designation: 101
Practitioners needed: 207
31. New Mexico
Areas with an HPSA designation: 100
Practitioners needed: 239
South Dakota
Areas with an HPSA designation: 100
Practitioners needed: 55
32. Idaho
Areas with an HPSA designation: 99
Practitioners needed: 96
33. Arkansas
Areas with an HPSA designation: 98
Practitioners needed: 105
34. North Dakota
Areas with an HPSA designation: 91
Practitioners needed: 49
35. Nebraska
Areas with an HPSA designation: 85
Practitioners needed: 9
36. Maine
Areas with an HPSA designation: 73
Practitioners needed: 18
37. Nevada
Areas with an HPSA designation: 71
Practitioners needed: 175
38. Massachusetts
Areas with an HPSA designation: 65
Practitioners needed: 108
39. Utah
Areas with an HPSA designation: 62
Practitioners needed: 101
40. Maryland
Areas with an HPSA designation: 48
Practitioners needed: 141
41. Wyoming
Areas with an HPSA designation: 46
Practitioners needed: 26
42. New Jersey
Areas with an HPSA designation: 37
Practitioners needed: 23
43. Hawaii
Areas with an HPSA designation: 31
Practitioners needed: 87
44. New Hampshire
Areas with an HPSA designation: 29
Practitioners needed: 17
45. Connecticut
Areas with an HPSA designation: 28
Practitioners needed: 149
46. District of Columbia
Areas with an HPSA designation: 15
Practitioners needed: 26
47. Vermont
Areas with an HPSA designation: 15
Practitioners needed: 2
48. Rhode Island
Areas with an HPSA designation: 13
Practitioners needed: 17
49. Delaware
Areas with an HPSA designation: 11
Practitioners needed: 74