NHSC Loan Repayment Program — How to Know If It Makes Sense for You

You’re stressed. Overworked. In tons of debt. As a healthcare professional, it can be tough to manage your job and your student loans — but there’s hope. If you work in healthcare, there are a few student loan forgiveness and repayment assistance programs for you.

If you're willing to work in certain areas of the United States and help foster healthy communities, the biggest program is The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSC LRP). In this guide, we’ll give you the lowdown on everything you need to know.

What is NHSC loan repayment?

The NHSC loan repayment program offers various health care providers student loan repayment assistance. This is in exchange for serving in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).

Professions that are typically considered advanced practice and are eligible include:

• Primary health care
• Dental and oral health
• Mental and behavioral

Qualifying disciplines

According to its program info fact sheet, the following disciplines qualify:

• Certified Nurse-Midwife
• Dental Hygienist
• Dentistry (DDS,DMD – dentist)
• Family Medicine
• General
• General Internal Medicine
• General Psychiatry
• Geriatrics
• Health Service Psychologist
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• Licensed Professional Counselor
• Marriage and Family Therapist
• Mental and Behavioral Health (mental health clinicians)
• Nurse Practitioner (adult, family, pediatric)
• Nurse Practitioner (NP)
• Obstetrics/ Gynecology
• Pediatrics
• Physician (MD/DO)
• Physician Assistant
• Physician Assistant (primary care)
• Psychiatric/ Mental Health
• Psychiatric Nurse Specialist
• Women’s Health

If you meet one of the eligible disciplines, there are full-time and half-time options available. You’ll work in an underserved area providing much-needed health services and patient care for at least two years as part of your service obligation, at an eligible site. Search HPSA Find to see which areas qualify.

How much NHSC loan repayment funding is available?

The NHSC loan repayment program offers competitive student loan repayment assistance funding. How much you qualify for depends on the site you work for and if you’re a full-time or half-time employee.

As a half-time HPSA site employee, you could get up to $25,000 in assistance working a two-year service commitment.

If you work full-time at an HPSA, you can get up to $50,000 in student loan assistance working a two-year contract. Regardless of the award, you receive in student loan repayment assistance, it isn’t taxable.

Areas of service

The amount of student loan repayment assistance under the NHSC loan repayment program is generous and can have a significant impact on your debt repayment. However, it requires at least two years of service in an HPSA at an NHSC-approved site. These sites vary and include:

• Medical facilities in rural areas
• Medical facilities in urban areas
• State or federal correctional facility
• Free clinic
• School-based programs
• Other types of community clinics and more

The NHSC site applicants must be approved by NHSC to qualify for this program. Every six months the program verifies that your employment qualifies. Expect to sign an In-Service Verification form and your site administrator will verify the hours you worked. Your site administrator will submit the completed form through the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) Customer Service Portal for review.

How to apply for the NHSC loan repayment program

The NHSC Loan Repayment Program is competitive. The program plans to offer 1,700 awards to eligible candidates in 2023. Before you apply, make sure you meet the eligibility requirements for NHSC loan repayment. You'll need all of the required licenses and certifications.

After you’ve confirmed you’re eligible, submit an application online and provide supporting documentation. This includes your loan verification, disbursement report and other additional information.

According to its website, the application process takes about three weeks. If chosen for the program and you accept, you’ll need to provide direct deposit information to get the award.

Is the NHSC loan repayment program right for you?

The NHSC loan repayment program is the most known student loan assistance program for health professionals. It's a way to get student loan assistance if you don't have a competitive salary and provide health resources to eligible communities. But deciding whether it’s the right fit for you isn’t an easy answer.

Assess how much student loan debt you have and how much progress you’ll make paying off your loans under this program. For example, if you have $50,000 or slightly more, you can obliterate your loans through this NHSC workforce loan repayment program and be done with your debt. In that case, it could be a good idea for qualified health care providers and a way to give back to those with limited access to various health and human services options.

Pursuing NHSC loan repayment and PSLF at the same time

But as a healthcare professional, you may be in six-figure debt. If this is your situation, weigh the pros and cons of NHSC versus Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Under PSLF, after working 10 years at a qualified organization and making 120 payments, your remaining student loan balance is forgiven.

PSLF might have better odds than NHSC as you’re guaranteed forgiveness if you work in an eligible job and make payments for 10 years. Some borrowers may try to get student loan repayment assistance and forgiveness from both programs. But that’s where your repayment plan gets murky.

You’re required to make 120 payments under PSLF. Since the NHSC loan repayment program offers a lump sum award, it may only count as one payment. Here’s why that’s problematic.

Let’s say you have $150,000 in student loans. If you qualified for both programs simultaneously, after two years of NHSC, you could potentially get $50,000 in assistance. This only counts as one payment, so you need another 119 payments to be eligible for PSLF. This might put you closer to 10 years of service. In other words, your service at NHSC might not actually get you further in paying down your debt with PSLF.

Doing both of these loan forgiveness options could potentially backfire. Consider the pros and cons of each program by comparing the service requirements to your existing debt. It’s worth figuring out which program will help you get out of debt faster.