Rural Health
News by Topic: Financial aid for health career education
May 5, 2026 - Announces the opening of the VA Specialty Education Loan Repayment Program (SELRP), providing loan repayment support to recent physician graduates in exchange for clinical service at a VA facility. Details program eligibility and application information. The SELRP application cycle will close May 31, 2026.
Source: VA News
Related funding:
Veterans Affairs Specialty Education Loan Repayment Program (SELRP)
ED: Reimagining and Improving Student Education-Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations
Federal Register
May 1, 2026 - Notice of final rule from the U.S. Department of Education amending the regulations for the federal student loan programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to implement changes outlined the July 4, 2025, Working Families Tax Cuts Act (Public Law 119-21). Among other things, these changes include establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents; phasing out the Graduate PLUS (Grad PLUS) Program; and establishing a new income-driven repayment plan known as the Repayment Assistance Plan. This final rule is effective July 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Mar 26, 2026 - Highlights the Rural Health Agenda, a bipartisan and bicameral group of proposed legislation aiming to support rural hospitals through increased Medicare reimbursement, introduce new funding to promote innovation in rural emergency healthcare, and incentivize rural communities for healthcare workers through extended loan repayment programs.
Source: Office of Senator Marsha Blackburn
Mar 16, 2026 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on proposed revisions to an information collection request titled "Bureau of Health Workforce Health Workforce Connector OMB No. 0906-0031-Revision." The Health Workforce Connector (HWC) provides a central platform to connect participants, including but not limited to those in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), Nurse Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs (Nurse Corps), Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Loan Repayment Program, Pediatric Specialty (PS) Loan Repayment Program, Nursing Training, and Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) programs with facilities that are approved for their programs. Comments are due by April 15, 2026.
Source: Federal Register