Monday, June 30, 2025

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.

According to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), as of March 31, 2025, over 59.7 million Americans resided in a dental health professional shortage area (HPSA).  A dental health HPSA is a geographic area, population group, or facility where community residents are underserved for dental care because too few dentists work in the area relative to the size of the population.  In the four-state Southwestern U.S., as of March 31, 2025, over 6.0 million residents lived in dental care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Southwest would need 1,099 more dentists to eliminate the dental care shortfall in the region.  From 3/31/25 HRSA data, here is a summary look at the dental care shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.


State (1) HPSAs (2) Population (3) Shortfall
AZ 207 2,046,279 339
NM 106 865,757 171
OK 187 1,083,631 211
TX 264 2,050,751 378
Region 764 6,046,418 1,099
U.S. 7,054 59,718,174 10,143

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a dental care shortfall
(2) Population of designated HPSAs
(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Saturday, June 28, 2025

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Rocky Mountain Region

A population group, facility, or geographic area where community residents have substandard access to mental health care services can be designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a health professional shortage area (HPSA).  This designation reflects an environment where the HPSA has too few mental health care practitioners serving the community relative to the size of its population.  The HRSA reports that, as of March 31, 2025, nearly 122.4 million Americans lived in communities where there was a mental health care shortfall. That number included over 7.7 million residents who lived in mental health care shortfall areas in the five-state Rocky Mountain region. To eliminate that mental health care shortfall, the HRSA estimates that Rocky Mountain region HPSAs would need 287 additional mental health care practitioners. A closer examination of HRSA data reveals the following state-level details about the mental health care shortfall in the Rocky Mountain region as of March 31, 2025:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Rocky Mountain Region

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Rocky Mountain Region

State (1) HPSAs (2) Population (3) Shortfall
CO 78 2,744,353 110
ID 63 1,210,451 48
MT 105 772,338 38
UT 57 2,430,542 68
WY 23 566,918 23
Region 326 7,724,602 287
U.S. 6,418 122,383,988 6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall
(2) Population of designated HPSAs
(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)