Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll
BARNSTABLE – The state recently provided over $140 million dollars in student loan repayments as part of the MA Repay Student Loan Repayment Program.
As part of the announcement, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll spoke at a press conference to give statistics on who was able to take advantage of the program.
“Forty-five percent of the individuals who are receiving student loan repayment through the MA Repay Program are people of color. 70% are women, 47% are under the age of 35, and over 900 awardees speak another language in addition to English,” said Driscoll.
The nearly 3,000 primary care and behavioral health providers who applied were all given funding to help the workforce grow and improve.
With the program showing promise, Driscoll understands that the administration is not done and wants to continue helping more healthcare employees moving forward.
“In the coming months we will be expanding the program with another $100 million dollars of funding so that more healthcare professionals can apply. That’s good news for those folks who didn’t get their applications in for this particular round,” Driscoll said.
The student loan repayment awards range from $12,500 to $300,000, depending on the healthcare professional’s qualifications, work settings, and hours worked.
Qualifying provider roles include social workers, primary care physicians, psychiatrists, nurses, substance use recovery coaches and case managers who work at Community Health Centers, Community Behavioral Health Centers, Community Mental Health Centers, psychiatric units in acute care hospitals, in-patient psychiatric hospitals or substance use treatment programs.
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