Contents tagged with public service loan forgiveness
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AAFP advocacy win: Texas physicians now eligible for federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness
By Jonathan Nelson
The U.S. Department of Education has updated its eligibility criteria for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program so that physicians in Texas and California are now eligible to apply, a change that should attract more physicians to practice in safety net hospitals and specialize in primary care. The program is designed to discharge the remaining federal student loan balance for professionals working in public service for governmental and nonprofit organizations after they have made 120 payments on their loans.
The existing PSFL regulations inadvertently excluded Texas and California physicians who treat patients in private, nonprofit community hospitals, children’s hospitals, and rural hospitals from participating because state laws prohibit private nonprofit hospitals from directly employing physicians. In an August 2022 letter, AAFP urged the Department to modify existing PSLF eligibility requirements to support the inclusion of all physicians providing patient care at nonprofit hospitals regardless of employment type — direct employee or contract employee.
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