§2173 Education loan repayment program: commissioned officers in specified health professions

Summary

Allows a military department secretary to pay back education loans for people who are or will become commissioned officers in health jobs, if the loan paid for health-profession education and came from a government source, a bank, a school, or another authorized lender. To get loan repayment, a person must meet one of four school rules (already fully qualified in a needed health field; full-time student in the final year of a non-physician health degree; in the final year of an approved graduate program for medical, dental, osteopathic, or other health specialty; or in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship program for fewer than the normal number of years), be fully qualified for or hold a commissioned officer appointment in a health profession, and sign a written agreement to start or extend active duty. Students at the Uniformed Services University are not eligible. Repayments can cover loan principal, interest, related costs, and reasonable living expenses up to the scholarship stipend level used in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship program. The military may pay up to $60,000 for each year of service a person agrees to, and that $60,000 is increased each October 1 by the same percentage the average scholarship education-and-stipend cost goes up. Each maximum yearly payment (or part of it) requires at least one year of active duty service under Defense Department rules. New obligations follow any existing ones. If an officer leaves early, the military may give a comparable alternative duty or require repayment under title 37, sections 303a(e) or 373. The Secretary of Defense must write rules for how the program works, including which loans and payees qualify.