Where are Idaho's doctor shortages?
44 Idaho counties have at least one federal shortage designation for primary care, mental health or dental care. Look up a hospital to see whether its area has a shortage.
Switch state
Primary care shortage
43 counties
98% of Idaho's 44 counties, against 88% nationally. 10 are designated as a whole county. 42 Idaho hospitals are in these counties.
Mental health shortage
44 counties
100% of Idaho's counties, against 93% nationally. 41 counties have a dental shortage designation.
Idaho's highest-need counties for primary care
Counties with the highest primary care shortage score (0 to 25; higher means greater need).
Madison
Part of county · 1 designation
Score 17
Mental health score 16
Gooding
Part of county · 1 designation
Score 17
Mental health score 14
Bingham
Part of county · 1 designation
Score 16
Mental health score 17
Blaine
Part of county · 2 designations
Score 16
Mental health score 14
Latah
Part of county · 1 designation
Score 16
Mental health score 16
Power
Part of county · 2 designations
Score 16
Mental health score 17
Every Idaho county with a shortage designation
Click a column to sort, or filter by county name. "Whole county" means the entire county is designated; "Part" means one or more areas within it (such as census tracts) or a population group (such as low-income residents) is designated. The number is the highest shortage score in the county.
No Idaho county with a shortage designation matches that name.
Only counties with at least one active area-based designation (geographic or population) are listed; Idaho has 44 counties in all. Scores run from 0 to 25 for primary care and mental health and 0 to 26 for dental care; higher means greater need. Bars show each score against the maximum. Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (data.hrsa.gov).
Questions about shortage areas in Idaho
Which Idaho counties are primary care shortage areas?
43 Idaho counties have all or part of the county designated as short of primary care providers (98% of 44). 10 are designated as a whole county: Boise, Camas, Clark, Custer, Franklin, Fremont, Lincoln, Oneida, Owyhee, Teton. In the other 33, part of the county or a population group (such as low-income residents) is designated.
Which Idaho county has the greatest need for primary care?
Madison has the highest primary care shortage score in Idaho: 17 on a scale of 0 to 25, where higher means greater need. Next highest: Gooding (17), Bingham (16), Blaine (16), Latah (16).
Is there a mental health care shortage in Idaho?
44 Idaho counties have a mental health shortage designation (100% of counties, against 93% nationally), 31 of them for the whole county. The highest mental health score is in Ada (18 of 25). 41 counties have a dental shortage designation.
How does Idaho compare with the rest of the U.S.?
98% of Idaho's counties have a primary care shortage designation, higher than the national figure of 88% (2,759 of 3,143 counties). Many designations cover only part of a county or a population group, so a county being listed doesn't mean every resident lacks care.
What do the shortage scores mean?
HRSA scores each shortage area on how severe the need is, using things like the ratio of people to providers, poverty and travel time to care. Scores run from 0 to 25 for primary care and mental health, and from 0 to 26 for dental care. Higher scores mean greater need, and the highest-scoring areas get priority for National Health Service Corps clinicians.
Idaho Medicare penalties Idaho hospital finances Non-profit hospitals in Idaho Idaho hospital price lists Idaho healthcare salaries All hospitals in Idaho Hospitals per capita
Shortage areas in every state
HRSA designates Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) where there are too few providers for the population: for primary care, generally fewer than one doctor for every 3,500 people (or 3,000 in high-need areas). Designations unlock federal programs such as National Health Service Corps clinicians and Medicare bonus payments. About the data.
Shortage areas in other states
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming