Loan repayments through NHSC, big money!

[sbayer91]

I just received my award from the NHSC and it couldn’t have been easier. I work in a relatively rural area and because of this I received a $100,000 check to pay off my loans, for only a three year commitment to stay at my current location. The application took me 30 minutes and once they approved it I had the money in my bank account two months later. It was such a relief to pay off half my loans so easily so I wanted to put this out there for anyone who doesn’t know. Shoot me any questions.

[flyfish95]

This is amazing! could I reach out with questions?

[buzzlightyear]

How competitive is this?

[Boatswain2PA]

I would like to get more details as well.  

You went online, spent 30 minutes, promised to work somewhere for 3 years, and the guvment gave you $100K?

What are the rest of the details?  What is the job, how much are you making, what happens if you leave (fired? parent has a stroke and you have to move home?  Kid needs to live close to tertiary care?) in 2.5 years?  

And that is only HALF of your loans??

[MusicalPA]

On 12/11/2021 at 12:24 PM, Boatswain2PA said:

I would like to get more details as well.  

You went online, spent 30 minutes, promised to work somewhere for 3 years, and the guvment gave you $100K?

What are the rest of the details?  What is the job, how much are you making, what happens if you leave (fired? parent has a stroke and you have to move home?  Kid needs to live close to tertiary care?) in 2.5 years?  

And that is only HALF of your loans??

My husband's was able to qualify for the 50k/2yr commitment. Application took an hour or so. It's the easiest when you just have fed loans to prove. If you have private loans it takes a little more leg work. Your facility has to have a high enough score(I think atleast 14 to be competitive). They like to see an applicant willing to stay in their area after the contract is up(not sure if that's a make or break thing). They ask such questions on the application. His facility is a CAH. He does clinic and ER call. You have to do 40hrs/week primary care no less than a 4day week(I think some time can be admin time, I forget). You have to track your days and report every 6 months and get verification from employer. You can't go over I believe 35 days/year of vac,sick, and cme time or you have to make up days on your contract. If something crazy unforseen thing happens and you have to miss a bunch of days past your 35, then they can work with you, but you must fulfill the contract. If your job ends up being crappy, then you have to stick it out or find another qualified facility to work at. If you get fired, same scenario. If you want to break the contract after you have received the funds, then it's not pretty. They have a calculator on their portal to figure out payback with interest and penalties. You don't want to break it. They do give you 60 days from the time the contract is signed by both parties to cancel the contract. They have let people out of the contract past the 60 days but before they disburse funds which usually happens at the 90 day mark of contract commencing. You want to make sure you will commit to it. No turning back. My husband's experience was pretty smooth sailing. The only annoyance was his work contract and NHSC contract didn't line up, so calculating days off and when they could be used was a little hassle. If you can get the initial contract doing a renewal on a year to year basis is pretty easy, even if your facility score goes down you can possibly get a renewal.

Edited February 20, 2022 by JC40

[SunniLeah]

Hi! Did you have to work at your job for a certain amount of time before applying for this program? Also, it 100,000 the max you can receive or will they offer more if you continue to work at your job after the initial commitment? 

[MusicalPA]

31 minutes ago, SunniLeah said:

Hi! Did you have to work at your job for a certain amount of time before applying for this program? Also, it 100,000 the max you can receive or will they offer more if you continue to work at your job after the initial commitment? 

No, you don't have to work at your job for a certain time. I would at least get an idea if your work is a good enough environment that you can commit to working that long there. Application deadline varies, but there are months in between deadline, approval, and contract start time. So you can always cancel the contract in the 60day window if you think things won't work out. The tricky thing for us was my husband's employment contract was from Feb-Feb, but the NHSC contract was from Sept-Sept. So you gotta know whether you are going to stay longer. There are a few different programs based on the type of facility. https://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loan-repayment/nhsc-all-loan-repayment-programs-comparison

50k/2yrs was full time for primary care.

100k/3yrs is for a different type of facility. They offer part-time which is half the money.

The 50k/2yr program offers renewal on a yr to yr basis at a reduced amount. I think 20k/yr for year 3 and goes down every year up to 5 yrs.

Edited February 21, 2022 by JC40

[MusicalPA]

I guess there is a possibility based on funding that you wouldn't get the max amount at full time status, since is says "up to" X amount. We got the max amount though, and so did the OP.

[BilkisR]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:39 PM, JC40 said:

My husband's was able to qualify for the 50k/2yr commitment. Application took an hour or so. It's the easiest when you just have fed loans to prove. If you have private loans it takes a little more leg work. Your facility has to have a high enough score(I think atleast 14 to be competitive). They like to see an applicant willing to stay in their area after the contract is up(not sure if that's a make or break thing). They ask such questions on the application. His facility is a CAH. He does clinic and ER call. You have to do 40hrs/week primary care no less than a 4day week(I think some time can be admin time, I forget). You have to track your days and report every 6 months and get verification from employer. You can't go over I believe 35 days/year of vac,sick, and cme time or you have to make up days on your contract. If something crazy unforseen thing happens and you have to miss a bunch of days past your 35, then they can work with you, but you must fulfill the contract. If your job ends up being crappy, then you have to stick it out or find another qualified facility to work at. If you get fired, same scenario. If you want to break the contract after you have received the funds, then it's not pretty. They have a calculator on their portal to figure out payback with interest and penalties. You don't want to break it. They do give you 60 days from the time the contract is signed by both parties to cancel the contract. They have let people out of the contract past the 60 days but before they disburse funds which usually happens at the 90 day mark of contract commencing. You want to make sure you will commit to it. No turning back. My husband's experience was pretty smooth sailing. The only annoyance was his work contract and NHSC contract didn't line up, so calculating days off and when they could be used was a little hassle. If you can get the initial contract doing a renewal on a year to year basis is pretty easy, even if your facility score goes down you can possibly get a renewal.

This sounds good. Moral of the story,  make sure u find a good place of work with great teamwork

[Boatswain2PA]

On 2/19/2022 at 10:39 PM, JC40 said:

My husband's was able to qualify for the 50k/2yr commitment. Application took an hour or so. It's the easiest when you just have fed loans to prove. If you have private loans it takes a little more leg work. Your facility has to have a high enough score(I think atleast 14 to be competitive). They like to see an applicant willing to stay in their area after the contract is up(not sure if that's a make or break thing). They ask such questions on the application. His facility is a CAH. He does clinic and ER call. You have to do 40hrs/week primary care no less than a 4day week(I think some time can be admin time, I forget). You have to track your days and report every 6 months and get verification from employer. You can't go over I believe 35 days/year of vac,sick, and cme time or you have to make up days on your contract. If something crazy unforseen thing happens and you have to miss a bunch of days past your 35, then they can work with you, but you must fulfill the contract. If your job ends up being crappy, then you have to stick it out or find another qualified facility to work at. If you get fired, same scenario. If you want to break the contract after you have received the funds, then it's not pretty. They have a calculator on their portal to figure out payback with interest and penalties. You don't want to break it. They do give you 60 days from the time the contract is signed by both parties to cancel the contract. They have let people out of the contract past the 60 days but before they disburse funds which usually happens at the 90 day mark of contract commencing. You want to make sure you will commit to it. No turning back. My husband's experience was pretty smooth sailing. The only annoyance was his work contract and NHSC contract didn't line up, so calculating days off and when they could be used was a little hassle. If you can get the initial contract doing a renewal on a year to year basis is pretty easy, even if your facility score goes down you can possibly get a renewal.

Sorry for the late response here, I don't come here very often anymore.

So hubby got $50K for a 2 year commitment.  That's a big difference from what the OP inferred.

I believe you have to do a MINIMUM of 40 hrs/week and no less than 4 days/week for the program you describe.  

How much is hubby paid by the CAH for this job?  How much could he be making if he went elsewhere?

Like many things in life, these programs are a risk.  You may get paid well, work at a great place, AND get $100K of loans paid off.

Or you may inadvertently take a job paying $50K/year less than you could have gotten, at a terribly run shop where everyone backstabs you and the management is more worried about patient satisfaction scores than good medicine (there are a LOT of these places), and you feel trapped because you feel like you HAVE to stay.

 

[MusicalPA]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:24 PM, Boatswain2PA said:

Sorry for the late response here, I don't come here very often anymore.

So hubby got $50K for a 2 year commitment.  That's a big difference from what the OP inferred.

I believe you have to do a MINIMUM of 40 hrs/week and no less than 4 days/week for the program you describe.  

How much is hubby paid by the CAH for this job?  How much could he be making if he went elsewhere?

Like many things in life, these programs are a risk.  You may get paid well, work at a great place, AND get $100K of loans paid off.

Or you may inadvertently take a job paying $50K/year less than you could have gotten, at a terribly run shop where everyone backstabs you and the management is more worried about patient satisfaction scores than good medicine (there are a LOT of these places), and you feel trapped because you feel like you HAVE to stay.

 

Yes,that is correct about the program he was in. He could use 35 days for vacation/cme/sick time.

What the OP described is an accurate program. The OP is at a different type of facility that can be awarded a different amount. 

We didn't go to the CAH job just for the loan repayment. Even though the facility qualified, there isn't a guarantee you will be approved. We looked at all our job offers and felt the job we took was the best fit and if he got approved for the loan repayment it would be icing on the cake. 

He started 3 yrs ago making 125k a year doing clinic and doing ER call(one day a week, one weekend/month) The CAH pays for all our family's medical and dental premiums(about 18k a year) good medical coverage along with other typical benefits. He now makes around 154k. 

Yes, like you mentioned some CAH will low ball your salary thinking you will get loan repayment. People should always think of it as icing in the cake. 

[ACMinNY]

@Boatswain2PAHow do I find out if a particular FQHC qualifies for loan repayment?

[sbayer91]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:24 PM, Boatswain2PA said:

Sorry for the late response here, I don't come here very often anymore.

So hubby got $50K for a 2 year commitment.  That's a big difference from what the OP inferred.

I believe you have to do a MINIMUM of 40 hrs/week and no less than 4 days/week for the program you describe.  

How much is hubby paid by the CAH for this job?  How much could he be making if he went elsewhere?

Like many things in life, these programs are a risk.  You may get paid well, work at a great place, AND get $100K of loans paid off.

Or you may inadvertently take a job paying $50K/year less than you could have gotten, at a terribly run shop where everyone backstabs you and the management is more worried about patient satisfaction scores than good medicine (there are a LOT of these places), and you feel trapped because you feel like you HAVE to stay.

 

So sorry I haven’t replied to this thread, I never got any notifications that anyone replied to it. 
 

There are 3 subtypes of the NHSC loan repayment program (LRP) Rural, Substance Abuse, and the regular LRP. The program I did was the Rural LRP specifically for facilities designated by HRSA as rural. I was surprised because I’m within a 45 minute drive from decent sized cities and my area is like 25 k population. At any rate, the 100 k for 3 years is the rural program. There is a substance abuse program that is 70-75k for 3 years and they didn’t even require me to prove how many MAT patients I was seeing if any at all. The regular loan repayment program would have only paid me 35k for the 3 years because my facility is rated at a 12 by HRSA, I believe less than 15 is only half the full reward, which is around 70-75 for 3 years. So it makes sense the other poster was talking about 50 for 2 years. 

[sbayer91]

On 6/9/2022 at 10:58 PM, ACMinNY said:

@Boatswain2PAHow do I find out if a particular FQHC qualifies for loan repayment?

Ask Human Resources at the specific facility what they qualify for. You can also reach out to HRSA and ask about a facility. The HRSA website is pretty difficult to navigate but at one point I was able to find a list of all the facilities and a map but it’s was buried in the site. See my post above talking about the different repayment programs because my site for example qualified for all 3 programs but nowhere on the website could I find this, it wasn’t until I applied that I saw it qualified for more than 1 program. 

[sbayer91]

On 2/21/2022 at 10:28 AM, SunniLeah said:

Hi! Did you have to work at your job for a certain amount of time before applying for this program? Also, it 100,000 the max you can receive or will they offer more if you continue to work at your job after the initial commitment? 

As JC40 said you don’t have to be there a minimum amount of time before applying. I believe you can even apply before starting if you have the job offer. You can re-up the contract after it expires which I plan on doing or as JC40 said, depending on the program, you can re-up year to year. Look at my post I just put in above about the 3 different programs. The “rural” loan repayment program pays out the highest and typically they will pay out the max amount. Everyone I spoke with says they only pay out less if they reach the end of their funds but apparently that hasn’t happened before. I also don’t know any PAs that successfully applied and didn’t get it, so although it’s not guaranteed it seems to be pretty much a sure thing if the application goes through. I know a few nurses that stopped their application because they were told they didn’t qualify but no one that didn’t get it after applying. 

[sbayer91]

On 12/11/2021 at 11:24 AM, Boatswain2PA said:

I would like to get more details as well.  

You went online, spent 30 minutes, promised to work somewhere for 3 years, and the guvment gave you $100K?

What are the rest of the details?  What is the job, how much are you making, what happens if you leave (fired? parent has a stroke and you have to move home?  Kid needs to live close to tertiary care?) in 2.5 years?  

And that is only HALF of your loans??

I work for the US Public Heath Service and I’m currently working at a prison (very cool job by the way). I’m making 130/yr with full military benefits. I signed on to stay at my current job for 3 more years and got 100/k for student loans. I came out of PA school with 200K almost all of it was for PA school, it’s stupid but I feel better about it now for sure. The application was very easy, I have federal loans so the loan information automatically populates into the application, if you have private loans it can be tedious to plug the info in but the rest of the application is very straight forward, literally was only 30 minutes for me. 
 

if you leave or are fired there are options to transfer the obligation to another federally qualified health center closer to where you need to be. Breaking the agreement outright is not a good idea, you will have to pay it back with interest. They will work with you for reasonable things and if you’re still willing to work with NHSC but dropping the obligation is a bad idea. JC40 has a good write up about it above. Also, I just posted about the different types of programs available, take a gander at that too.

[Boatswain2PA]

On 12/6/2022 at 6:11 PM, sbayer91 said:

I work for the US Public Heath Service and I’m currently working at a prison (very cool job by the way). I’m making 130/yr with full military benefits. I signed on to stay at my current job for 3 more years and got 100/k for student loans. I came out of PA school with 200K almost all of it was for PA school, it’s stupid but I feel better about it now for sure. The application was very easy, I have federal loans so the loan information automatically populates into the application, if you have private loans it can be tedious to plug the info in but the rest of the application is very straight forward, literally was only 30 minutes for me. 
 

if you leave or are fired there are options to transfer the obligation to another federally qualified health center closer to where you need to be. Breaking the agreement outright is not a good idea, you will have to pay it back with interest. They will work with you for reasonable things and if you’re still willing to work with NHSC but dropping the obligation is a bad idea. JC40 has a good write up about it above. Also, I just posted about the different types of programs available, take a gander at that too.

You were working for the PHS and THEN applied/accepted/signed on for 3 years for the loan repayment?  I think that's unusual, as the loan repayment is supposed to entice people INTO the job, not just keep them.  But I"m glad it worked out for you!

PHS/military is a good way to get your loans repaid by transferring your debt from financial debt into service debt.

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Boatswain2PA

[sbayer91]

7 hours ago, Boatswain2PA said:

You were working for the PHS and THEN applied/accepted/signed on for 3 years for the loan repayment?  I think that's unusual, as the loan repayment is supposed to entice people INTO the job, not just keep them.  But I"m glad it worked out for you!

PHS/military is a good way to get your loans repaid by transferring your debt from financial debt into service debt.

 

So how the PHS works is you’re commissioned as an officer into the commissioned corps (I am currently O-3 grade) and can be assigned or apply to work at any number of federal agencies doing all sorts of different jobs. I applied to work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is a clinical billet. I could stay a year and move somewhere else, another prison, another agency, another job, etc. But I signed an agreement with the NHSC to work at this specific prison to get the loan repayment. This is separate from the PHS, so I can retire or quit PHS and get hired as a civilian and still get the NHSC repayment. The PHS is very flexible so there is not threat of being pulled from my position and sent somewhere else. 
 

Typically the NHSC loan programs require you to already have the job or be offered the job. They were very clear with me that they are not in the business of job placement or recruiting. They basically said it’s up to me to find a clinic that qualifies and get the job on my own then apply and go through the process.  It’s only used as a recruiting tool if the individual clinic HR departments mention it. 

[Boatswain2PA]

But with PHS, you are not at the mercy of an assignment officer?  Can't the PHS simply transfer you, even against your will? 

Pretty sure a PHS PA I worked with about 15 years ago was there against his will.  What happens to the NHSC reimbursement if Uncle Sam transfers you to Taiwan or something?

[Boatswain2PA]

And PHS at a prison...I assume you are at a federal prison like Leavenworth?  That explains the higher pay, I don't think most state prison PAs make that much (but could be wrong there).

[sbayer91]

1 hour ago, Boatswain2PA said:

But with PHS, you are not at the mercy of an assignment officer?  Can't the PHS simply transfer you, even against your will? 

Pretty sure a PHS PA I worked with about 15 years ago was there against his will.  What happens to the NHSC reimbursement if Uncle Sam transfers you to Taiwan or something?

Not really, you get to choose your job and “duty station” which could just be an office at the CDC. The only time I didn’t get a say of where I  was assigned was when I first graduated and they sent me to a prison, I transferred after a year. I can stay here til I retire or transfer every 2 years or so, it’s really all up to me. Technically they could, but they don’t.

I think the NHSC has a stipulation for active duty PCS or deployment but I’m not 100% sure. And PHS is 99.99% stateside so you won’t get sent overseas. It’s really a mix the best benefits of the military and civilian.

[sbayer91]

1 hour ago, Boatswain2PA said:

And PHS at a prison...I assume you are at a federal prison like Leavenworth?  That explains the higher pay, I don't think most state prison PAs make that much (but could be wrong there).

Yeah federal prison. Most places even state corrections will have a base pay that is awful. Usually listed on the job posting like 60-90/yr or some BS, but that’s because it’s a grading system like military or GS level, they have to put you at a grade/rank. However, since it is a clinical role and a hard to fill position they almost always have bonuses and extra pay. My base rate is regular O-3 (only like 70-80 depending on location) but I get like 40+ in bonuses and special rates.

[catfish2]

I know my reply is belated, but it caught my eye, and I decided to drop in. Huge congrats on getting your NHSC award and wiping out half your loans. Thanks a bunch for sharing your experience and letting us know how straightforward it was. I'm currently navigating the loan repayment maze myself, so your post is super useful. If you don't mind, could you share a bit more about the application process?  However, I also prefer seeking expert advice, and personally, I've had a fantastic experience with Mortgage Advice York. Their specialists really know their stuff and have been very helpful to me in guiding my financial decisions.

Edited December 26, 2023 by catfish2

[sbayer91]

On 12/18/2023 at 10:58 AM, catfish2 said:

I know my reply is belated, but it caught my eye, and I decided to drop in. Huge congrats on getting your NHSC award and wiping out half your loans. Thanks a bunch for sharing your experience and letting us know how straightforward it was. I'm currently navigating the loan repayment maze myself, so your post is super useful. If you don't mind, could you share a bit more about the application process? 

Im happy to help! The application process itself was super easy. The hardest part about getting started with the NHSC process is the site selection, or finding a place to work that qualifies for the loan forgiveness program. You can check out their site connector page  https://connector.hrsa.gov/connector/ and some other resources they have on their website. 
 

The actual application requires basic personal information, all of your loan info (if you have federal loans it basically auto-populates all the loan details into the application), I think there may have been a little essay question about service. All in all it’s a very straightforward application. When applying you can choose to apply to all 3 programs at once (the LRP, Rural LRP, and Substance Abuse LRP) if you want and they will process the application through all three programs then you can choose which one you want to take if you and the site you work at qualify. 
 

it was all almost too easy but again finding a location and figuring out which program it qualifies for was the hardest part for me