Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 6A— - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— - HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION › Part Part A— - Student Loans › Subpart subpart i— - insured health education assistance loans to graduate students › § 292d
Federal loan insurance is allowed only when the loan is made to an eligible borrower and the loan follows certain rules. The borrower must be accepted or enrolled and in good standing at an eligible school, be a full‑time student, and agree to use the money for tuition, fees, books, lab costs, and reasonable living expenses; pharmacy students must have finished three years of training. A person who already had an insured loan and is in an approved non‑payment period may get a loan only to pay interest on the earlier loan. The loan must be a written, generally unsecured promissory note (a minor might need a cosigner). Repayment of principal must be in installments over 10 to 25 years, starting no sooner than 9 months and no later than 12 months after the borrower leaves full‑time study, finishes certain years of residency, or ends certain fellowships or training. Payments of principal may be delayed in specified situations (for example, full‑time study; accredited internships or residencies up to 4 years; military service, Peace Corps, National Health Service Corps, and similar volunteer service up to 3 years; some chiropractic or primary care practice limits of 1–3 years; certain fellowships up to 2 years; and service providing health care to Indians up to 3 years). These deferment periods do not count toward the 25‑year maximum. Interest accrues during deferment and the loan can allow accrued interest to be added to principal when repayment starts. Interest rates may not exceed the average quarterly 91‑day Treasury bill rate plus 3 percentage points, rounded up to the next one‑eighth of one percent. The borrower may prepay the loan without penalty, checks are paid jointly to the borrower and school, lenders must offer graduated repayment plans based on debt‑to‑income for the first 5 years, and federal law (except the federal interest limit) overrides state rules that would cap interest. For this section, “active duty” means the military definition in 37 U.S.C. 101(18) but excludes active duty for training, and the “Persian Gulf conflict” began on August 2, 1990, until a later end date set by the President or by law.
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The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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42 U.S.C. § 292d
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73