Clinicians’ Eligibility and Application Requirements for the State Loan Repayment Program

Clinicians who apply for loan repayment from a state/territory National Health Service Corps (NHSC) State Loan Repayment Program (NHSC State LRP) non-federal entity (NFE)/grantee must meet certain eligibility and application requirements.

If requirements are met, clinicians will be able to apply to their respective state program. However, NHSC State LRP is competitive. Not every clinician who applies will be accepted.

Clinician eligibility requirements

To qualify for the NHSC State LRP, clinicians must meet the following criteria:

General

  • Must be United States citizens or nationals (naturalized citizens).

Debt/payment

  • Be free of judgments arising from federal debt.
  • May not have defaulted on any federal payment obligations.
  • May not have had any federal or non-federal debt written off as uncollectible or received a waiver of any federal service or payment obligation.

Service obligations

Must not have breached a prior service obligation to the federal/state/local government or other entity, even if s/he subsequently satisfied the obligation. Cannot have other existing service obligations/commitments (for example, Primary Care Loans).

EXCEPTION:

  • Individuals in the Reserve Component of the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard are eligible to participate in NHSC State LRP. In making awards to reservists, NHSC State LRP recipients must inform the potential NHSC State LRP participant that:
    • Placement opportunities may be limited by NHSC State LRP in order to minimize the impact that a deployment would have on the vulnerable populations served by the reservist.
    • Military training or service performed by reservists will not satisfy the NHSC State LRP service commitment.
    • If participant’s military training and/or service, in combination with the participant's other absences from the service site, exceed 35 workdays per service year, the NHSC State LRP service obligation must be extended to compensate for the break in service.
    • If the approved NHSC State LRP site where the reservist is serving at the time of his/her deployment is unable to reemploy that reservist, NHSC State LRP will reassign the participant to another NHSC State LRP-approved service site to complete his or her remaining NHSC State LRP service commitment. Because it is sometimes difficult to identify short-term assignments, a participant may be asked by the service site to sign an employment contract that extends beyond the completion date of his or her NHSC State LRP service commitment.
    • If the participant is a reservist and is called to active duty, the amount of time he/she is on active duty (which does not count as NHSC State LRP service) must be added to the length of the original NHSC State LRP obligation.

Employment

  • They must provide full-time or half-time primary health care services at an eligible site.
Disciplines Full-Time (40 hours/week) Half-Time (20-39 hours/week)
Primary Care
  • Direct Clinical Care: At least 36 hours/week, which may include up to 8 hours/week in teaching activities and up to 12 hours/week in approved alternative settings. 
  • Administrative Duties: Up to 4 hours/week.
  • Direct Clinical Care: At least 18 hours/week, which may include up to 4 hours/week in teaching activities and up to 4 hours/week in approved alternative settings.
  • Administrative Duties: Up to 2 hours/week.
Oral Health
  • Direct Clinical Care: At least 36 hours/ week, which may include up to 8 hours/week in teaching activities or in approved alternative settings.
  • Administrative Duties: Up to 4 hours/week.
  • Direct Clinical Care: At least 18 hours/week, which may include up to 4 hours/week in teaching activities or in approved alternative settings.
  • Administrative Duties: Up to 2 hours/week.
Behavioral Health
Note: Must serve in Mental Health Professional Shortage Area
  • Direct Clinical Care: At least 36 hours/week, which may include up to 8 hours/week in teaching activities, and up to 20 hours/week in approved alternative settings or performing services as a behavioral or mental health professional in schools or other community-based settings as directed by the site.
  • Administrative Duties: Up to 4 hours/week
  • Direct Clinical Care: At least 18 hours/week, which may include up to 4 hours/week in teaching capacity, and up to 10 hours/week in approved alternative settings or performing services as a behavioral or mental health professional in schools or other community-based settings as directed by the site. 
  • Administrative Duties: Up to 2 hours/week.

Use of Funds

  • Must agree to use the NHSC State LRP funds only to repay qualifying educational loans.

Eligible disciplines

NHSC State LRP non-federal entities (grantees) may be flexible in the accepted disciplines of their awarded clinicians. Our primary concern is that the disciplines provide primary health services in HPSAs.

Disciplines may include:

  • MD: Allopathic Medicine
  • DO: Osteopathic Medicine
  • DDS/DMD: Doctor of Dental Surgery/Doctor of Dental Medicine (General and Pediatric Dentistry) General and Pediatric Dentistry
  • DT: Dental Therapist (licensed to practice within the state)
  • RD: Registered Dietician (licensed to practice within the state)
  • NP: Nurse Practitioner
  • CNM: Certified Nurse-Midwife
  • PA: Physician Assistant
  • RDH: Registered Dental Hygienist
  • HSP: Health Service Psychologist (Clinical and Counseling)
  • LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker
  • PNS: Psychiatric Nurse Specialist
  • LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor
  • MFT: Marriage and Family Therapist
  • RN: Registered Nurse
  • Pharm: Pharmacist
  • Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors licensed/credentialed/certified by their state of practice that meet educational requirements and Master's degree requirement.

U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps (CC) Officers may qualify if:

  • They are serving at a federal site (for example, Bureau of Prisons, Indian Health Service, etc.).
  • The site they serve at is in a HPSA.
  • The federal site is willing to pay their salary.

License requirements

Clinicians must have a current, full, permanent, unrestricted health professional license, certificate, or registration (whichever is applicable) in the state or territory of their NHSC State LRP-approved site.

Educational loan requirements

Clinicians must:

  • Obtain educational loans prior to the respective state’s application deadline.
  • Provide documentation for qualifying educational loans.
    • The state is responsible for verifying loan documentation.

Before clinicians apply

Before applying to the NHSC State LRP, clinicians must not have an outstanding contractual obligation for health professional service to the federal government, a state or other entity, unless they completely satisfy that service obligation before the start of the state contract.

Note: Certain provisions in employment contracts can create a service obligation.

  • EXAMPLE: An employer offers a physician a recruitment bonus in return for the physician’s agreement to work at that facility for a certain amount of time (or pay back the bonus).

The NHSC State LRP does not consider the Public Loan Forgiveness Program a service obligation. Thus, clinicians participating in it are eligible to apply for the NHSC State LRP.

Application cycle

Each NHSC State LRP application cycle is unique. The number of awards within a state depends on the number of applications received as well as the availability of funding.

Applicants may contact the NHSC State LRP Administrator within their state to determine the current amount of funding available for the upcoming cycle.

When do clinicians apply to the NHSC State LRP?

The application period for individual states or territories varies. They should contact their state’s NHSC State LRP Administrator to find out.

Each state/territory has its own application cycle, and the NHSC State LRP does not need to align with the NHSC LRP competitive or continuation application cycles.

What documents must a clinician submit to complete their application?

Required documents for the NHSC State LRP vary by state/territory.

Typically, clinicians must supply the following documents:

  • Application
    Sign and date the application and enclose all required documentation.
  • Educational Debt Reporting Form
    Refer to lender statements when filling out this form.
  • Lender Statements
    Must be current and dated within 30 days of application submission. Be sure to include the clinician’s name, the name and payment address of the lender, account number, and the current principal balance.
  • Personal Statement Refer to the application for these predetermined questions. Personal statements should be typed in a question-and-answer format.
  • Letter of Recommendation
    Written by the clinician’s supervisor; it should explain why the applicant is a good candidate for the program. Must be on letterhead and include an original signature.
  • Certification of Practice Site Form
    Verifies the applicant’s employer’s agreement to participate in the program.

Interested applicants should contact the state’s NHSC State LRP Administrator to make sure they're complying with all application requirements.

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