Rural America Health Corps Act

Loan repayment for rural health workers

This bill would create a Rural Provider Loan Repayment Demonstration at the Department of Health and Human Services. You would be able to get payments toward principal and interest on eligible loans if you are eligible for the NHSC Loan Repayment Program but are not already in it. You would need to agree to five years of full-time work in a rural Health Professional Shortage Area. Each year while you serve the program would pay one-fifth of the principal and interest on eligible loans outstanding at the start of service, and after you complete the fifth year it would pay the remainder. Total payments to any person would be capped at $200,000. The Secretary could set a liquidated damages formula for breaches, and not finishing the full five years alone would not automatically count as a breach if you in good faith completed the years paid. Participating providers would not be considered in HPSA designations during fiscal years 2026–2030. The bill would authorize $50 million per year for fiscal years 2027–2031 and require a report to two congressional committees within five years on the program and rural access.