Nurse Practitioner Student Loan Forgiveness

Nurse Corp Loan Repayment Program (NCLRP)

Part of the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Program, the Nurse Corp Loan Repayment Program (NCLRP) seeks to reward nurses and NPs who commit themselves to serve in communities of need. NPs can have 60 percent of their total outstanding qualifying educational loan balance repaid for a two-year service commitment at a qualifying location; some NPs may receive an additional 25 percent off their original loan balance in return for a third year of service. 

The NCLRP program pays NPs in monthly installments, on top of their salary. Preference is given to applicants with high debt-to-salary ratios and those working in the highest-need areas. To qualify, NPs must work between 32 and 45 hours weekly at a critical shortage facility (CSF) or in a health professional shortage area (HPSA). 

Eligible site types include: 

• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
• Community Health Centers (CHCs)
• American Indian Health Facilities
• Rural Health Facilities

The following site types are specifically ineligible:

• Private Practice Offices and Clinics
• Prisons and Correctional Facilities

Qualifying loans for the NCLRP include both government and private loans, as long as they were used for nursing school, or for a nursing school’s prerequisite courses (as long as those courses did not apply to part of a non-nursing degree). Note that consolidation between undergraduate and graduate loans will need to occur before application time. And debt consolidation between nursing and non-nursing debt, or with another person, will disqualify an NP from the program.

Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program (NFLRP)

Also funded via Title VIII, the Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program rewards NPs from economically and/or environmentally disadvantaged backgrounds who commit to providing two years of nursing education at an approved school program. Those selected will receive a reward of up to $40,000 in loan repayment assistance, as well as funding to offset the resulting tax burden. The reward is provided in a single lump sum. 

To qualify as economically disadvantaged, an NP must come from a family with an annual income below the low-income thresholds published by the US Census Bureau. 

To qualify as environmentally disadvantaged, an NP must come from an environment that has inhibited the person from obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to enroll in, and graduate from, an undergraduate or graduate school.

Applicants must provide an official employment contract with their qualifying school for a two-year service period. They’ll also need an agreement by the employer to match the FLRP’s loan repayment (this is part of what qualifies an employer for the program). 

Qualifying loans include federal and commercial loans for nursing programs, but any loan consolidation must occur before the application deadline. 

Note that NFLRP is a highly competitive program: in 2021, there were 161 eligible applications received, of which only 22 received awards.

National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSC LRP)

Similar to the Nurse Corps program, but distinct from it, the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSC LRP) is meant to recruit NPs and other health service providers to health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). The program made 3,500 new awards to health professionals in 2022 and received an additional $800 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. 

Qualified candidates must work for at least two years at an NHSC-approved service site designated as or serving an HPSA. The program will repay up to $50,000 for two years of full-time service, and up to $25,000 for two years of half-time service. After those two years, recipients may be eligible for additional loan repayment funds via an optional third year of continuous service. Approved specialties for NPs applying to the NHSC LRP include adult, family, pediatric, psychiatric-mental health, geriatrics, and women’s health.

Eligible site types include: 

• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
• Community Health Centers (CHCs)
• American Indian Health Facilities
• Rural Health Facilities

The following sites are specifically not eligible, even if they are located in a HPSA:

• County or Local Prisons 
• Inpatient Facilities (except for CAHs or IHS Hospitals)
• Veteran-Only Facilities (i.e. VA Medical or Military Bases) Clinics

Qualifying loans for the NHSC LRP include both government and private loans, as long as they were used for nursing school, or for a nursing school’s prerequisite courses (as long as those courses did not apply to part of a non-nursing degree). Parent PLUS loans are specifically not eligible. Note that consolidation between undergraduate and graduate loans will need to occur before application time. And debt consolidation between nursing and non-nursing debt, or with another person, will disqualify an NP from the program. 

The NHSC LRP prioritizes applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds and applicants who are likely to remain working in the HPSA after the terms of the repayment program have elapsed. Funding is also focused on the most in-need HPSAs.

Indian Health Services Loan Repayment Program (IHS LRP)

The Indian Health Services Loan Repayment Program helps NPs and other health professionals repay up to $40,000 of their student loans in return for an initial two-year service commitment to practice in health facilities serving American Indian and Alaska Native communities. NPs in the IHS LRP can extend their contract annually until all their qualified student debt is paid, receiving $20,000 per year in repayment sums. The program also comes with cultural and professional rewards that entice some NPs to spend their careers working with this patient population. 

Opportunities are based on Indian health program facilities with the greatest staffing needs in specific health profession disciplines. NPs must either have the offer to work at an approved Indian health facility or already be employed at one; NPs interested in finding a placement can contact an IHS recruiter directly. Program recipients will be expected to work at least 40 hours weekly, with at least 23 hours in direct patient care. 

Qualifying loans include government and commercial loans used to pay for nursing education and related expenses, including reasonable livable expenses. For consolidated loans, only the portion of the debt accrued in the service of nursing education is eligible for repayment; undergraduate and graduate education can be covered.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

The PSLF program is a pure-forgiveness program available to anyone in a public service role. While it was relatively easy to get relatively recently, revisions to the guidelines in 2020 have expanded its reach significantly. Under the program, if an NP makes 120 student loan payments while working full-time in a public service role, they can have their remaining balance forgiven. The payments don’t have to be consecutive, but if they are, they add up to ten years of time. 

To qualify, the 120 loan payments must be made through an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan such as:

• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
• Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR)
• Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE)
• Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAE)

NPs can check whether their employer is eligible as a public-health provider via the PSLF Help Tool; many NPs will be eligible through their normal clinical practice. Note that the public service requirement can be fulfilled through multiple employers, some of which may include: 

• AmeriCorps
• Clinics providing public health services
• Federal, state, or local government agencies
• Tax-exempt nonprofits
• Peace Corps

Typically, the PSLF program only forgives federal direct loans. Still, other types of loans—such as Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) or Perkins loans—might be forgiven if consolidated properly into federal direct loans. Consolidation should be considered carefully, however. 

Suppose a nurse or NP is already making PSLF payments (e.g., on their undergraduate program), and consolidates it with other loans (e.g., from their graduate program). In that case, the PSLF’s 120-payment clock resets to zero.