Connecticut launches student debt relief program for healthcare providers

There is a new program launching in Connecticut that not only aims to tackle student debt, but also recruit and retain healthcare providers.

People in certain medical professions can now apply to get tens of thousands of dollars for student debt relief.

The student loan repayments will go to all kinds of providers who are working in primary care, dental and mental healthcare jobs. However, they need to be practicing in underserved areas of the state. Leaders say it is to address worker shortages.

Future nurses and physician assistants prepare for the workforce at Quinnipiac University.

However, the soaring costs of a medical education like that anywhere can leave new graduates with thousands of dollars in student debt.

“Everything is skyrocketing,” Larry Slater, Quinnipiac School of Nursing dean and professor, said. “That is dictating where they're choosing to get that first job, because they have in the back of their mind, ‘I have to support my family, and I have to pay back my loan.’”

Slater said debt is detrimental to those who want to work in underserved areas.

“Those positions don't typically pay as much as some of the more urban based acuity-based hospital systems,” Slater said.

Connecticut leaders also note the trend. It is why the state is partnering with the Department of Public Health to launch a new student loan repayment program for health care workers.

To apply, a provider needs to commit to work, or already be working, in a designated area of need in Connecticut for two years. After that timeframe, full-time providers will get $50,000 for student loan repayment and part-time professionals will get $25,000.

“One of the differences in this versus some of the other federal programs that exist, is this can help pay off private debt that students may have, and that is a really important thing to highlight,” Commissioner Manisha Juthani, CT Department of Public Health, said.

The program is getting $13.5 million from federal funding and aims to combat worker shortages and burnout in the wake of the pandemic.

“Nurses are still working around the clock, and a lot of worries about mandatory overtime, and a lot of nurses wondering whether you're going to stay in the profession or not,” Governor Ned Lamont said.

The governor’s office provides this list of medical professionals eligible to apply for the student loan relief:

• MDs and DOs in Family Practice, General Practice, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, OB/GYN
• APRNs, including Certified Nurse Midwives, Nurse Practitioners and Psychiatric Nurse Specialists
• Physician Assistants
• Registered Nurses
• Dentists and Dental Hygienists
• Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Core Behavioral Health Providers, including Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Licensed Professional Counselors and Substance Use Disorder Counselors
• Pharmacists

Slater sees the program as a win-win for students, professionals and patients alike.

“This will really kind of balance the scales, and allow us to really get practitioners into our rural environments, or underserved environments in the state of Connecticut to really address the primary care needs of our citizens,” Slater said.

The website for the new student debt relief program is live. Juthani said the online application process will open on Wednesday.