The SPARC Act creates a federal loan repayment program designed to attract specialty medicine physicians and certain other healthcare providers to work in rural communities that lack these specialists. Under the program, the Health Resources and Services Administration would repay up to $250,000 in student loans for participants who commit to six years of full-time work in underserved rural areas, with payments distributed over the service period. The bill covers specialty physicians and, to a limited extent, non-physician specialists like nurse practitioners and physician assistants, though non-physicians can receive no more than 15 percent of available program funds and are excluded from other federal loan forgiveness programs. Participants must complete their full six-year commitment in good faith, though they can leave without penalty if they've completed all years for which they've received payments. The bill authorizes unlimited appropriations through fiscal year 2034 and requires the administration to report to Congress every two years on whether the program successfully improves specialty care access in rural America.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.