The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services opened enrollment Oct. 26 for a new program that can provide eligible nurses with up to $40,000 toward student loans and a separate $10,000 stipend. Nurses who receive the benefit must work at a qualifying nursing home for three years.
The Nurses for Nursing Homes program has a total budget of $275 million. CMS is providing $100 million, while states have committed at least $175 million more. The funding is expected to support more than 4,000 nurses, according to information from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Who can receive the benefit
The program is open to registered nurses and licensed practical or vocational nurses. Participants must commit to working at an eligible nursing home and average at least 30 hours per week in each quarter. A qualifying facility must be Medicare-certified, Medicaid-certified or dually certified and located in an eligible area.
The program does not limit eligibility based on whether the nursing home is operated by a nonprofit or a for-profit company. That distinction can matter because, according to KFF data cited in the program’s description, 72% of nursing homes are for-profit. Nurses employed by those facilities generally cannot rely on the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program’s employer requirement, which limits eligibility to government and qualifying nonprofit employers.
| Program feature | Amount or requirement |
|---|---|
| Student-loan repayment | Up to $40,000 |
| Additional stipend | $10,000 |
| Work commitment | Three years |
| Minimum schedule | Average of 30 hours per week each quarter |
| Total program funding | $275 million |
The stipend can also reach some nurses who do not have eligible student-loan debt. HHS says nurses who graduated within the previous two years may qualify for the $10,000 stipend without qualifying loan debt. The loan-repayment portion is separate and is intended for eligible education debt.
Payments under the program are taxable. The College Investor estimated that the full $50,000 in benefits could result in about $11,000 in federal income tax over three years for a nurse in the 22% tax bracket. That estimate depends on the recipient’s circumstances and does not change the program’s stated benefit amounts.
How the program differs from PSLF
Public Service Loan Forgiveness, commonly called PSLF, generally cancels a borrower’s remaining federal student-loan balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments while the borrower works for an eligible public-service employer. The nursing-home program is structured around a three-year employment commitment instead.
- Eligible nurses can receive up to $40,000 in student-loan repayment and a $10,000 stipend.
- Participants must work at a qualifying nursing home for three years and average at least 30 hours per week each quarter.
- Nurses who graduated within the past two years may qualify for the stipend even without eligible student-loan debt.
CMS opened the first enrollment window on Oct. 26. The program’s funding comes from civil monetary penalties collected by CMS and states from nursing homes, according to HHS.
