Public Health Service Act, Rural Physician Training Grant Program, Definition of “Underserved Rural Community”

This interim final rule (IFR) with request for comment is meant to comply with the statutory directive to issue a regulation defining "underserved rural community" for purposes of the Rural Physician Training Grant Program in section 749B of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This IFR is technical in nature. It will not change grant or funding eligibility for any other grant program currently available through the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) or HRSA. For purposes of the Rural Physician Training Grant Program only, HRSA has combined existing definitions of "underserved" and "rural" by using the definition of rural utilized by the ORHP Rural Health Grant programs and the definition of "underserved" established by HRSA's Office of Shortage Designation (OSD) in the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr).