Notice of Criteria for Determining Maternity Care Health Professional Target Areas

Resumen

HRSA published a 30-day public notice in the Federal Register on February 3, 2026, (Federal Register volume 91, number 22, pp. 4927- 4931) soliciting feedback on updated criteria for determining maternity care target areas (MCTA). In particular, HRSA requested feedback on proposed changes to the criteria and point scales for MCTAs by removing the criterion for Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and reallocating its two points as follows: one point to population-to-full-time equivalent maternity care health professional ratio and one point to score for travel time/distance to the nearest source of accessible care outside of the MCTA. This notice responds to the comments received during this 30-day public notice period and sets forth updated MCTA scoring criteria.