§ 36-2352 — Designation of medically-underserved areas

A. The department shall designate areas of medical need in this state as medically-underserved if either:

1. The area is designated as a health professional shortage area as defined in 42 Code of Federal Regulations part 5.

2. The area is designated as medically underserved by the department of health services by using an index that measures the following indicators:

(a) The availability of services based on a population to primary care provider ratio.

(b) The area's geographic accessibility to health care services.

(c) The percentage of the area's population that is at or below a designated federal poverty level.

(d) The health needs of the area as determined by factors which may include the incidence of infant mortality, low weight births and inadequate prenatal care.

(e) Other factors indicative of medically underserved areas which may include unemployment and the presence of farm workers, minorities and the elderly.

B. The department of health services shall submit a report to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives beginning October 1, 1996 and every two years thereafter that reevaluates the criteria, effectiveness and recommendations for changes, if necessary, to the index. The report shall also include a summary of the communities designated as medically underserved and a listing of the programs they were able to utilize based on the medically underserved designation.