“Locality” is the geographical area for which the carrier is to derive the reasonable charges or fee schedule amounts for services or items. Usually, a locality may be a State (including the District of Columbia, a territory, or a Commonwealth), a political or economic subdivision of a State, or a group of States. It should include a cross section of the population with respect to economic and other characteristics. Where people tend to gravitate toward certain population centers to obtain medical care or service, localities may be recognized on a basis constituting medical services areas (interstate or otherwise), comparable in concept to “trade areas.” Localities may differ in population density, economic level, and other major factors affecting charges for services. Carriers therefore shall delineate localities on the basis of their knowledge of local conditions. However, distinctions between localities are not to be so finely made that a locality includes only a very limited geographic area whose population has distinctly similar income characteristics (e.g., a very rich or very poor neighborhood within a city).

[57 FR 27305, June 18, 1992]