Indiana State Loan Repayment Program (IN-SLRP)

• Physicians – Allopathic (MDs) or Osteopathic (DOs) including specialties:
  • Family Medicine
  • Obstetrics/Gynecology
  • General Internal Medicine
  • Gerontology
  • General Pediatrics
  • General Psychiatry
• General Practice Dentists (D.D.S OR D.M.D)
• Registered Clinical Dental Hygienists (DHs)
• Primary Care Nurse Practitioners (NPs)
• Primary Care Physician Assistants (PAs)
• Certified Nurse-Midwives (NMs)
• Registered Nurses (RNs)
• Health Service (Clinical or Counseling) Psychologists (CPs)
• Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs)
• Psychiatric Nurse Specialists (PNSs)
• Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs or LMHCs)
• Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs)
• Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors with Indiana Licenses

If your discipline is not listed, you are not eligible for the program at this time.

To be eligible, healthcare professionals must meet the following criteria:

• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Must not be in breach of a health professional service contract to the federal government, a state or local government, or other entity.
• Must not have a judgment lien against their property for a debt to the U.S.
• Hold an unlimited license (if applicable) to practice a health care profession listed above in Indiana.
• Must have outstanding student loans and use award money only to pay outstanding student loans incurred during undergraduate or graduate education.
• Must agree to provide services in a public or private not-for-profit setting in a federally designated shortage area approved by the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) for two years.
• Must perform the service obligations at an eligible site, i.e., public or nonprofit private entity located in a federally designated health professional shortage area (HPSA) appropriate for their discipline and providing primary health care services.
• Must not have an outstanding contractual obligation for health professional service to the Federal Government (e.g., an NHSC Scholarship or Loan Repayment Program obligation), State Government, Local Government, or other entity unless that service obligation will be completely satisfied before the IN-SLRP contract has been signed. Please note that certain provisions in employment contracts can create a service obligation (e.g., an employer offers a physician a recruitment bonus in return for the physician's agreement to work at that facility for a certain period of time or pay back the bonus).
• Must provide full-time primary health care services, which is defined as a minimum of 40 hours per week for at least 45 weeks per year for two (2) years at an eligible site. At least 32 of the minimum 40 hours per week must be spent providing clinical service in the form of direct patient care. These services must be conducted during normally scheduled clinic hours in the ambulatory care setting office(s), with the remaining hours spent providing inpatient care to patients of the eligible site and/or in practice-related administrative activities, with administrative activities not to exceed 20% of their full-time tour.
• Obstetricians/Gynecologists and Certified Nurse Midwives are expected to spend at least 21 hours per week providing ambulatory care services during normally scheduled office hours, with the remaining hours spent providing inpatient care to patients of the eligible site and/or in practice-related administrative activities, with administrative activities not to exceed 20 percent of their full-time tour.
• Must charge for their professional services at the usual and customary prevailing rates in the area in which such services are provided, except that if a person is unable to pay such charge, such person shall be charged at a reduced rate or not charged any fee.
• Must agree to provide primary health care services to any individual seeking care. The IN-SLRP participants must agree not to discriminate based on the patient’s ability to pay for such care or on the basis that payment for such care will be made pursuant to Medicare or Medicaid.
• Must agree to accept assignment under Medicare for all services for which payment may be made under Part B of Title XVIII and enter into an appropriate agreement with the state agency that administers the state plan for medical assistance under Title XIX to provide service to individuals entitled to medical assistance under the plan.
• Must pay the amount specified in their IN-SLRP Program contract default provision if they fail to complete their service obligation for any reason.

To be eligible, practice sites must meet the following criteria:

• Committed to employing health care professionals full-time for a minimum of two (2) consecutive years.
• Must be a public or non-profit private entity located in and providing health care services in a federally designated HPSA. A non-profit private entity means an entity that may not lawfully hold or use any part of its net earnings to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual and which does not hold or use its net earnings for that purpose.
• Must be located in a primary care, mental health, or dental health federally designated HPSA.
• Must charge for professional services at the usual and customary prevailing rates, except for free clinics.
• Must provide discounts for individuals with limited incomes (i.e., use a sliding fee scale).
• Must accept Medicare and Medicaid. Must agree not to discriminate based on the patient's ability to pay for care or on the basis that payment for such care will be made pursuant to Medicare or Medicaid.

Public Law 108-357, enacted October 22, 2004, makes all funds disbursed on or after January 1, 2004 under the State Loan Repayment Program exempt from gross income and employment taxes. See U.S.C. 108(f)(4) regarding income tax and 26 U.S.C. 3121(a)(20) regarding employment tax. This law also excludes these funds from being taken into account as wages in determining benefits under the Social Security Act.

Yes. You will need to submit a total of 5 Provider Activity Reports (PARs) throughout your contract period. A schedule and link to the PARs can be found under the Current Program Participants tab.

Another requirement for IN-SLRP is the completion of an ECHO learning project. Project ECHO connects health professionals with specialist teams who share resources, tools, and strategies for improving treatment for specific populations or specialty areas. After the completion of a learning project, IN-SLRP participants continue their service in the workforce with an improved lens on how to deliver care. To complete this requirement, you must attend at least 60% of sessions of a learning project, and each session must be live.

No; however, some counties are given higher priority.

You must attend at least 60% of the sessions of the learning project, and each session must be live.

No, you must participate in a current, live ECHO learning project.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Apply as soon as possible to increase your chances of being accepted into the next round of funding.

No. You can only fulfill one health service obligation at a time.

The contractor and their sponsor/employer must complete an Indiana State Loan Repayment Program Health Provider Activity Report. The report is due 30 days from the begin date of the service commitment. Additional reports will be due on the following schedule: 5 months after the initial 30-day report then every six (6) months thereafter until the two-year commitment is satisfied.

2022-2025 Grant Cycle

Round 1

Service dates 5/1/2023 - 4/30/2025

Round 1 Provider Activity Reports

An ECHO Learning Project must be completed before the end of the contract period. At least 60% of sessions of the track must be attended, and each session must be live. Completing an Opioid or Substance Use Disorder ECHO hosted by Indiana University is recommended, but any ECHO from any organization will be acceptable. A transcript or certificate of attendance must be sent to SLRP@health.in.gov to verify completion of the learning project.

1. Complete two years of full-time service at the contractually approved practice site.
2. Complete and submit all 5 Provider Activity Reports (PARs) through RedCap.
3. Complete at least 60% of an ECHO Learning Project, obtain a transcript or certificate of attendance, and email the documentation to the SLRP Team.
4. Use the full award amount to pay your outstanding student loans and email documentation to the SLRP Team.

All documentation should be emailed to SLRP@health.in.gov.