Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program

OVERVIEW

Since 2003, the Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program (KSLRP) has served as a recruitment and retention tool to reduce health workforce shortages in rural and underserved locations throughout the state. Applicants selected to participate in the competitive program are required to commit to working full time for two years, providing primary care services at an eligible site in the state. Participants receive tax-free student loan repayment in exchange for their service commitment.

New for 2022-2023
Kentucky Behavioral Health Workforce Initiative (KBHWI)
2022 KBHWI Guidelines and Instructions
2022 KBHWI New Provider Application
2022 KBHWI Site Application
2022 KBHWI Sponsor Application
2022 KBHWI Loan Verification Form

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

To be  eligible to apply to the KSLRP, applicants must: 

  • Be a U.S. citizen (either U.S. born or naturalized) or U.S. National and work in Kentucky.

  • Have been trained and licensed to provide direct patient care in one of the program’s eligible disciplines and specialties: Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse-Midwives, Registered Nurses, Dentists, Registered Dental Hygienists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors, Health Service Psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists, Psychiatric Nurse Specialists, Alcohol and Substance Use Disorder Counselors, and Pharmacists.

  • Have a current, full, permanent, unencumbered, unrestricted professional license, certificate, or registration in Kentucky in the discipline in which you are applying to serve.

  • Be employed at an eligible KSLRP site, or have accepted an offer of employment at an eligible site where service will begin (and the applicant will begin seeing patients) no later than January 2023.

  • Work in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) that corresponds to their training and/or discipline. (You can search the HPSA Find website to determine if your practice site is located in a HPSA.) 

  • Practice full time, as defined by a minimum of 40 hours per week, for a minimum of 45 weeks per year, providing primary health services at an eligible site.

  • Participate or be eligible to participate as a provider in the Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program, as appropriate.

  • Agree to use KSLRP funds only to repay qualifying educational loans.

  • Have a history of honoring prior legal obligations, have no existing service obligation nor incur any service obligation that would be performed concurrently with their KSLRP service obligation, and should not be currently excluded, debarred, suspended, or disqualified by a federal agency.

ELIGIBLE SITES

Eligible practice sites (public or non-profit private entities) include:

  • Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)

  • FQHC Look-A-Likes

  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

  • Other Health Facilities (including Community Mental Health Facilities, State and County Health Department Clinics, Free Clinics, Mobile Units, Critical Access Hospitals affiliated with a qualified outpatient clinic, Long-Term Care Facilities)

  • Correctional or Detention Facilities (including federal prisons and state prisons)

  • Private Practices (Solo or Group)

LOAN REPAYMENT

Loan repayment offered through the KSLRP is based on a 50/50 match: For every federal dollar provided by the KSLRP, participants must have a 1:1 match from a sponsor source. Sponsors can include employers at the practice site; private foundations, corporations, community organizations, and/or philanthropies; and, rurally-oriented organizations requesting that their funds be used to support the placement of practitioners in rural areas.

If an applicant’s employer is providing the matching funds, the employer must agree that the funds will not be used as a salary offset. And, when agreeing to provide the matching funds, the sponsor may not add additional service obligations to the applicant.

Participants are awarded funding in a tiered format, based on their provider type, level of loan indebtedness, and sponsor commitment level. Maximum award amounts for a two-year commitment are as follows:

  • Physicians, Dentists, Pharmacists: $100,000

  • PAs, NPs, CNMs, Behavioral and Mental Health Specialists: $60,000

  • RNs, RDHs, Alcohol and Substance Use Disorder Counselors: $40,000

APPLICATIONS

The application window for the Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program (KSLRP) is now CLOSED. The next application window will open in August 2023. KSLRP Program Guidelines and Instructions, and application forms from 2022 are provided below.  

You can also download a one-page KSLRP fact sheet here.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about the Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program, please contact Lisa Garza at KSLRP@uky.edu or 606-439-3557.