Loan Repayment and Scholarship Programs

Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) - Loan Repayment Programs

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Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program

STAR LRP

Loan Repayment Application Cycle:

Opens: Check website below for upcoming cycle
Loan About: Up to $250,000

DHS providers who work in Mental Health-Substance Use Disorder Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) facilities, are eligible to apply.

–Eligible Sites include: Edward Roybal CHC, High Desert Regional HC, Hubert Humphrey CHC, Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center, South Valley HC, and Star Clinic. Sites are subject to change — please verify site eligibility at time of submission.

The application for this competitive program may be found at https://bhw.hrsa.gov/funding/apply-loan-repayment/star-lrp. Once you have submitted your STAR LRP application, please contact Helen Takhmazyan at htakhmazyan@dhs.lacounty.gov or (747) 210-3574. We encourage all eligible applicants to take advantage of this program.

FAQs

State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)

Loan Repayment Application Cycle:

Opens: Check website below for upcoming cycle

Licensed in one of the following disciplines:

  • Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)
  • Family Physicians (MD/DO)
  • General Internist (MD/DO)
  • General Pediatrics (MD/DO)
  • General Practice and Pediatric Dentists (DDS/DMD)
  • General Psychiatry (MD/DO)
  • Gerontology (MD/DO)
  • Health Service Psychologists (HSP) [formerly known § as Clinical/Counseling Psychologist]
  • Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW)
  • Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
  • Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT)
  • Mental Health Counselor (MHC)
  • Obstetrician/Gynecology (MD/DO)
  • Pharmacy (PharmD)
  • Psychiatric Nurse Specialist (PNS)
  • Primary Care Nurse Practitioners (NP)
  • Primary Care Physician Assistant (PA)
  • Registered Dental Hygienists (RDH)

Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (STLRP)

Loan Repayment Application Cycle:

Opens: Check website below for upcoming cycle

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Be an allopathic or osteopathic physician or surgeon
  • Have outstanding educational debt from a government or commercial lending institution
  • Have a valid, unrestricted MD or DO license to practice medicine in California
  • Be currently employed or have accepted employment as a primary care doctor or as a specialist at a qualifying practice site in a Health Professional Shortage Area-Primary Care (HPSA-PC) or Primary Care Shortage Area (PCSA) in California
  • Be practicing outpatient care. At least 90% of direct patient care hours must be spent working in an outpatient setting, not a hospital. Exception: Emergency Room Physicians providing care to patients not admitted to the hospital
  • Commit to providing full-time medical services in a HPSA-PC or PCSA for a minimum of three (3) years

National Health Service Corps (NHSC)

Loan Repayment Application Cycle: Check website for upcoming cycle

Scholarship Enrollment: Check website
Students to Service Enrollment:Check website

LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM:
Licensed in one of the following disciplines:

  • Medicine (MD/DO)
  • Physician Assistant (primary care)
  • Nursing (Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Psychiatric Nurse Specialist)
  • Dentistry (DDS, DMD); Dental Hygienist
  • Mental and Behavioral Health (Health Service Psychologist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist)
Award: NHSC offers two levels of loan repayment awards:
  • Up to $50,000 to PCPS working at a site with a HPSA score of 14+ for a 2- year full-time commitment, up to $25,000 for half time.
  • Up to $30,000 to PCPs practicing at a site with a HPSA score of 13 and below for a 2-year full-time commitment, up to $15,000 for half-time.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM:

Intended for: Primary Care Physician (MD or DO), Dentist (DDS or DMD), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Certified Nurse-Midwife, Primary Care Physician Assistant (PA)

  • Award Amount: Covers tuition, fees, monthly stipend and other reasonable educational costs
  • Commitment: 1-4 years
STUDENTS TO SERVICE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM:

Medical students in their final year of school are eligible to receive loan repayment assistance in return for working in a HPSAs for at least 3 years.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

Loan Repayment Application Cycle:

Application Cycle: Available year round

PROGRAM INFORMATION:
Under the PSLF program, borrowers may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance of their Direct Loans after they have made 120 qualifying payments (only payments made after October 1, 2007 qualify) on those loans while employed full-time by certain public service employers.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Work full-time (30+ hours a week) in a public service job. This program begins its first funds disbursement in October 2017; however, you may submit the Employment Certification Form (ECF) annually while you are working to fulfill the requirements for the PSLF.

What loans are eligible for forgiveness?
  • Only loans received under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program are eligible for PSLF. Loans you received under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program are not eligible for PSLF.
  • If you have an FFEL Program or Perkins Loan Program loans, you may consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan to take advantage of PSLF. However, only payments you make on the new Direct Consolidation Loan will count toward the required 120 qualifying payments for PSLF.
  • After the 120th qualifying payment, you will be notified by the PSLF server of completion.

L.A. Care - Elevating the Safety Net Initiative

Loan Repayment Application Cycle: Ongoing

Application Cycle: There is no deadline to apply. However, the number of awards is dependent on the number of eligible applications and availability of funding.

PROGRAM INFORMATION:
Elevating the Safety Net is a long-term initiative to recruit high-quality physicians into the Los Angeles County safety net.

ELIGIBILITY:

  • Eligible primary care specialties include Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Pediatrics.
  • Applicant must confirm current employment at a qualified practice site in L.A. Care’s Medi-Cal network.
  • Applicant must confirm submit application within six months from employment start date.
  • Awardee must commit to practice in the safety net for a minimum of three years.
  • Awardee must provide a minimum of 16 hours of direct patient care with 32 hrs. qualifying for maximum monthly award.
  • There is no deadline to apply. The number of awards is dependent on the number of applications and availability of funds.

Physicians for Healthy California/CalHealthCares Loan Repayment Program

Application Cycle: Check website below for upcoming cycle

PROGRAM INFORMATION:
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) in partnership with Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) created CalHealthCares, which aims to improve access to care for low-income patients by creating economic incentives for physicians to provide care to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. CalHealthCares provides loan repayment in exchange for a service commitment to Medi-Cal and underserved patients.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Must have completed their physician residency or graduated from a dental school, residency and/or fellowship within the last 5 five years.
  • Have an unrestricted license and be in good standing with their licensing board.
  • Not currently be participating in another loan repayment program.
  • Have existing educational loan debt incurred while pursuing a medical or dental degree (those applying for the loan repayment program).
  • Eligible professions include allopathic or osteopathic physicians specializing in any primary, specialty or sub-specialty care.
  • Practice site does not need to have a specific HPSA score, however it will be a factor in determining awardees and you will receive points based on your score.