00-23539. Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Medically Underserved Areas for 2001

AGENCY:

Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION:

Notice of medically underserved areas for 2001.

SUMMARY:

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has completed its annual determination of the States that qualify as Medically Underserved Areas under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program for the calendar year 2001. This is necessary to comply with a provision of the FEHB law that mandates special consideration for enrollees of certain FEHB plans who receive covered health services in States with critical shortages of primary care physicians. Accordingly, for calendar year 2001, OPM's calculations show that the following States are Medically Underserved Areas under the FEHB Program: Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The 2001 list is identical to the 2000 list, except we have removed North Dakota from the list for calendar year 2001.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ingrid Burford, 202-606-0004.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

FEHB law (5 U.S.C. 8902(m)(2)) mandates special consideration for enrollees of certain FEHB plans who receive covered health services in States with critical shortages of primary care physicians. The FEHB law also requires that a State be designated as a Medically Underserved Area if 25 percent or more of the population lives in an area designated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a primary medical care manpower shortage area. Such States are designated as Medically Underserved Areas for purposes of the FEHB Program, and the law requires plan payments to all qualified providers in these States.

FEHB regulations (5 CFR 890.701) require OPM to make an annual determination of the States that qualify as Medically Underserved Areas for the next calendar year by comparing the latest Department of Health and Human Services State-by-State population counts on primary medical care manpower shortage areas with U.S. Census figures on State resident populations.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Janice R. Lachance,

Director.