Hospital/Clinic Loan-Repayment Contracts

[gmreed2]

I hear that if you're sly enough you can get a rural hospital/clinic to help pay off your student loans if you enter into a contract with them which states that you have to practice within a certain geographical area for a number of years. Can anyone give me a few examples of either what they've heard or experienced with this? Is there anywhere I can go for more information?

I'd like to practice rural, but I don't know if I want to get into the NHSC or state programs. Is this a viable alternative for rural practitioners?

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[onewithpain]

I moved to the southern coast of Oregon which is an area that I don't consider all that rural but the state does. As long as I practice in an area that they have designated as rural and short on providers then they will pay my student loans. Federal loans, not private and they don't pay the interest. They spread it out over 5 years and all rural docs get a $5,000/year tax credit (that's like $5,000 non-taxable in your pocket). I can move within the state and still get all of this as long as I stay in a designated rural and shortage area. I can leave after 3 years and they stop paying but I don't have to pay anything back. If I left before then I would owe them what they had paid. My local hospital picked up the balance of my loans (private and accrued interest) in return for 3 years requiring that most of my patients be from their service area. When I got here a couple other hospitals offered to steal me away with more money. The states designated areas cover some pretty nice places but no cities. Some towns up to ~25,000 and areas that are considered vacation or retirement destinations. Also some honestly rural areas where you could end up being the only doc in the county.

 

[lilnoelle]

How large of a loan package are places like this willing to pick up? I had out of state tuition and had to borrow everything allowed each year to live on because I have two kids to support. (And threw daycare on top of that). My loans are outrageous: $300K+
None of them are private loans.

 

[Cooperd0g]

How large of a loan package are places like this willing to pick up? I had out of state tuition and had to borrow everything allowed each year to live on because I have two kids to support. (And threw daycare on top of that). My loans are outrageous: $300K+
None of them are private loans.

I have been researching this as well. There are programs that are state specific and there are federal programs. From my limited research so far, the NHSC is the biggest and broadest loan repayment program which works for those practicing in HPSA (health professional shortage areas). If an area is an HPSA then they (clinic, hospital, private practice, etc) can apply to be a NHSC Member and qualify to have loan repayment for their physicians, nurses, and PAs.

http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/

Again, my research is pretty limited so far.

 

[onewithpain]

I believe the limit for the state of Oregon is $120. Then the hospital can add whatever it wants. In my case they covered $40. I had a pretty good savings prior to starting medical school which evaporated in downtown Chicago so ended up with 120 in debt. The hospital asked me to sign for 3 years, and would be likely to ask for more if you were looking at 300. In a rural area it could be worth it to them but they may not want to commit to the entire balance until they see that the patients like you.

 

[MS3inOhio]

If you've already paid off your debt, is it possible to negotiate a bonus in place of debt forgiveness? Or is it simply foolish to pay off your debt when there is debt forgiveness as an option??

 

[MS3inOhio]

Also- do these qualifying sites generally pay less than average?