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Introduced on February 7, 2025 by David Kustoff
This bill, called the Rural America Health Corps Act, aims to bring more health workers to rural areas. It creates a test program that helps pay off student loans for health care providers who agree to work full-time for five years in rural places that are officially short on providers. The program pays part of your loan each year you serve, and if you finish the fifth year, it pays the rest, up to $200,000 total.
The program follows most of the National Health Service Corps loan rules, but you cannot be in that program at the same time. If someone leaves early, the agency can set a penalty formula, but leaving before five years is not automatically a breach if you completed, in good faith, the years already paid for. The bill sets aside $50 million a year for 2026–2030, and says this program will not affect how shortage areas are labeled during those years. It also requires a report on results within five years of becoming law.