Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine has recently filed a bill draft request for the 2023 Legislature to establish a student loan repayment program that will strengthen the pipeline of women’s health care professionals in Nevada.
The legislation is the result of proposals that were received during the Nevada Recovers Listening Tour and comes on the heels of the executive action from the Biden administration to provide student loan relief to working-class families.
“Nevada currently has one of the highest student loan default rates in the nation and we’re facing significant challenges in attracting qualified healthcare professionals to our rural and low-income urban communities,” Conine said. “I look forward to working with the members of the Legislature on this proposal to keep our best and brightest students here in Nevada, while increasing access to vital healthcare services for all of our residents.”
Under the proposal, all new providers of healthcare who graduate from an institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education, would be eligible for up to $120,000 in student loan repayment in exchange for five years of service in an underserved community in Nevada.
Additionally, the program will focus on providing student loan repayment to obstetricians, gynecologists, family medicine physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and other providers of women’s health care services.
Under the program, healthcare professionals would be eligible for repayment if they commit to practicing in any of the following communities: Qualified low-income census tracts or census tracts with a high level of social vulnerability, as determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; tribal communities; in communities with high rates of limited English proficiency; or in areas that have been subject to historical instances of redlining, segregation, and other discriminatory practices.
Funding for the program would come from the Abandoned Property Trust Account established in NRS 120A.620.
Nevada’s Student Loan Ombudsman was established in the Treasurer’s Office in 2019 and will work to increase awareness of this proposal with potential graduates and the state’s colleges and universities.
Conine said he is looking forward to continuing to meet with stakeholders across the state to finalize the legislation over the coming months.
