HRSA: Proposed Inclusion of Terrain Factors in the Definition of Rural Area for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grants

Federal Register

Apr 26, 2024

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) is seeking comments on proposed modifications to the definition of rural areas by integrating the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) 2023 Road Ruggedness Scale (RRS). FORHP proposes including census tracts of at least 20 square miles in area in metro counties with RRS 5 (highly rugged) and rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) code 2 or 3 in its definition of rural areas. This notice also includes a technical clarification regarding how FORHP will use Census data to identify outlying Metropolitan Statistical Area counties that qualify as rural in future updates given the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 Census terminology. Comments are due by May 28, 2024.

Policy · Rural definitions