State Loan Repayment - South Dakota Health Department

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South Dakota State Loan Repayment Program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, recently announced a Notice of Grant Award authorizing the South Dakota State Loan Repayment Program for another year. The South Dakota Office of Rural health, which administers the program, will begin accepting applications immediately.

This program provides for the repayment of qualifying educational loans for health professionals. In return, the health professional commits to fulfill a service obligation in an eligible practice site within a federally designated health professional shortage area (HPSA) for a minimum of two years. Loan repayment amounts for a two-year contract are $35,000 for physicians and $19,000 for non-physicians. Physicians can contract up to four years and receive $100,000. Non-physicians can contract up to three years and receive $35,000. Please see chart below. The loan repayments are exempt from gross income and employment taxes.

To be eligible a health professional must:

Be a United States citizen
Have professional credentials certifying that provider is a Primary Care Physician, Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Midwife, Primary Care Physician Assistant, General Practice Dentist, Registered Clinical Dental Hygienist, Clinical or Counseling Psychologist, Psychiatric Nurse Specialist, Certified Social Worker, Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Professional Counselor, or Marriage and Family Therapist
Agree to practice full time as a health professional in an eligible facility for a minimum of two years
Be free of judgments arising from federal debt

Requirements to be a certified eligible entity:

Must be a public or not-for-profit private or public entity located in a federally designated HPSA in the areas of primary care, mental health, or dental health, as are appropriate to the applicant.
Agree to pay a dollar-for-dollar match on non-federal funds of the federal portion of the loan repayment amount for provider's educational loans.

How does it work?
An eligible entity begins the State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) by recruiting a health professional using the SLRP as an enticement.

The health professional applies for loan repayment by filling out an application which provides eligibility information to the Office of Rural Health.

The Office of Rural Health determines eligibility of the health professional and makes a recommendation to the Secretary of Health regarding the status of each applicant.

The health professional and the eligible entity enter into a State Loan Repayment Program contract with the Department of Health.

Payment schedules
Loan repayment amounts vary by the type of health professional and the length of obligated service on the part of the professional.

Physician & Dentist Payment Schedule I		Other Qualifying Health Professionals Payment Schedule II
Maximum Amounts		Maximum Amounts
Year 1	$15,000	Year 1	$8,000
Year 2	$20,000	Year 2	$11,000
Year 3	$30,000	Year 3	$16,000
Year 4	$35,000	TOTAL	$35,000
TOTAL	$100,000

Application (Note: This form can be filled electronically, printed, then returned manually via fax or postal mail. A signature is required. Therefore, applications cannot be sent via email. Form fillers using Adobe Reader will not be able to save an electronic copy of the form containing data.)
Applications are currently being accepted.
For more information or to request a hard copy of the application, contact the Department of Health, Office of Rural Health, 600 E. Capitol, Pierre, SD 57501, or by phone at 1-800-738-2301 or 605-773-2679.