Rural Physician Loan Repayment Program

Supporting doctors who serve Utah's rural communities.

Photo credit: Kam Twitchell

Financial support for Utah's rural physicians

The Rural Physician Loan Repayment Program (RPLRP) provides educational loan repayment assistance to physicians who contract to work in a rural hospital for a minimum of two years of service.

The program awards providers in primary care, ob/gyn, general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, pediatrics, and internal medicine throughout rural Utah hospitals.

You can make an impact

“I appreciate the help that the rural physician loan repayment program provides to doctors within the state of Utah.”
Jared West

Apply here!

Physicians may apply here to receive financial assistance for their student loans. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and should be submitted before June 1 to be considered for the first half of 2024.

Apply here

Eligibility criteria

Work at a rural hospital in Utah
Commit for 2 years
Be in no more than one loan repayment program at a time
Apply within 18 months of beginning employment at an approved site
Have a permanent, unrestricted license to practice in Utah before the recipient’s first day of service under the grant agreement
Have bona fide student loans
Work full-time (at least 40 hours per week) or part-time (at least 20 hours per week)
Receive matching funds from their employer for loan repayment
If accepted to the program, submit semiannual progress reports to PCRH

Awards

Full-time

The state of Utah will award up to $40,000 and your employing hospital is required to provide a 100% match. Your total award for 2 years of full-time service will be $80,000.
If your employer agrees, you may also be eligible for a one year extension of $40,000. The total possible award amount for this program is up to $120,000.

Part-time

Providers working part-time will be awarded $20,000 and your employing hospital is required to provide a 100% match. Your total award for 2 years of service will be $40,000.
If your employer agrees, you may also be eligible for a one-year extension of $20,000. The total possible award amount for physicians working part-time is $60,000.

Progress report

Physicians who enroll in this program are required to submit progress reports periodically to demonstrate their impact within their communities. Progress reports help to demonstrate the volume of patients who benefit from the physician's services, the quality of care, and how the financial assistance program has helped providers achieve their goals. The Office of Primary Care and Rural Health also invites providers to submit anecdotal stories to help demonstrate the success of the program to funders, and legislators, as well as to inspire new applicants to work in underserved communities in Utah.

Progress reports are submitted every six months. If you are a provider and you are wondering when your next progress report is due, details can be found in Attachment B of your contract.

Submit report

Invoice template

Update your address

Has your address updated recently? Program participants may update their address through one of two ways:

If you started the program before July 2022, you can update your address by downloading a W9 form, filling it out, and emailing it to opcrh@utah.gov.
If you started the program after July 2022 and have a PaymentWorks profile, you can update your address directly within PaymentWorks. Then notify the program administrator via email at opcrh@utah.gov.

W9 Form

If you are a program participant and your address has recently changed, you will need to update your address in the program!

W-9 form

Advisory Committee

The Rural Physician Loan Repayment Program Advisory Committee meets twice a year to consider applicants and award physicians with support.

Learn More

Program contact info

Rachel Devine
Workforce Development Specialist
801.230.6570
rdevine@utah.gov

Codes and rules

Read about the codes and rules that govern this program.

Learn more