Health Professional Student Loan Repayment Program

  • Applications will be accepted from September 1 thru December 1, 2024
    (The close date has been extended from the previous date of November 1, 2024)
  • Submit your application electronically by accessing the SLRP Electronic Application Submission

 

Program provisions found in SLRP Policies and Procedures and SLRP Program Regulations (19 CSR 10-3.030).

Who is Eligible to Apply?

The applicant must meet all of the following:

  • Missouri Licensed General Dentist or Primary Care Physician (see specialties below)
    Doctor of Allopathic Medicine (M.D.)
    Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
    • OB/GYN
    • Pediatrics
    • Family Practice
    • Internal Medicine
    • Psychiatry
    • Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)
    • Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD)
      • Primary care services are defined as the services provided by a general dentist or physician engaged in general or family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, or obstetrics and gynecology as their primary specialty.
  • A US citizen
  • A Missouri resident
  • Recipient must be willing to serve in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) in Missouri.

Maximum Loan Repayment Amounts Awarded per Year

  • $50,000 for eligible primary care physicians and dentists (MD, DO, DDS, DMD)
  • An additional $2,500 is available for providers that provide the following additional services SUD treatment, OUD Treatment, Behavioral Health, Mental Health, and Tele-health Services for a maximum of $10,000

Repayment of Loans/Service Obligation

SLRP recipients earn forgiveness of their loan repayment award through a service obligation. The obligation is two years of service per award, which is based on full-time qualifying employment.

Qualifying employment is considered as full-time, direct patient care in a HPSA providing primary health care services. You can search for HPSAs here. Full-Time employment in the SLRP is considered forty (40) hours per week. Hospitalists, emergency medicine physicians, and positions in inpatient facilities, and prisons do not qualify.

Before You Apply

  • Carefully understand all the program provisions found in 19 CSR 10-3.030.
  • You must understand all the program provisions, penalties, and how contract breaches occur.
  • There are serious penalties associated with breaching program contracts, which could result in paying back the entire loan amount awarded to you including interest, and other penalties.

SLRP Rules, Policies and Procedures

  • SLRP Program Regulations, (19 CSR 10-3.030)
  • SLRP Policies and Procedures (Contact the program for policies and procedures)

SLRP Forms

National Health Service Corps.

The National Health Service Corps. (NHSC) is a federal program aided by State Primary Care Offices in the recruitment and retention of primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care clinicians in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). The NHSC-approved sites are outpatient, ambulatory care settings that provide treatment regardless of patients’ abilities to pay for services. These sites accept Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and offer services on a sliding fee schedule. The NHSC awards scholarships and loan repayment to primary care providers who commit to serving at NHSC-approved sites for contracted periods of time.

The Health Professional Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is a competitive federal grant program that allocates funds to states to award funding for educational loan repayment to Missouri licensed practicing psychiatry, medical, and dental health professionals in exchange for services in Missouri areas with a shortage of mental health, medical, and dental professionals. If you have a current NHSC obligation, you are not eligible to apply for an award through the SLRP.

Contact Information
Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)
Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
P.O. Box 570, 930 Wildwood
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570
Phone: 573-751-6441
Email (Preferred Method of Contact): DHSS.LoanRepayment@health.mo.gov