Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Invests Additional $16.5 Million in Student Loan Repayments for Health and Human Service Workers

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration has announced that the third round of applications for the MA Repay Program is now open, with an additional $16.5 million available to support health and human service workers across the state. The MA Repay Program helps people enter and stay in the health- care field, addressing workforce shortages. The program is intended to positively impact the health and wellbeing of Massachusetts residents, strengthen our economy and competitiveness, and promote equity in the healthcare profession.

Through this additional investment, MA Repay will provide educational loan repayment to direct care professionals and supervisors of direct care professionals who provide treatment, support, or services to clients or their families in a home-based or community-based human service organization. This marks the first time that early education, childcare, home health and other home- and community-based workers are eligible to apply for educational loan repayments through the MA Repay program.

“We are excited to open this repay program up to additional health and human service providers across the state,” said Governor Healey. “As the daughter of a school nurse, and at a time when we have severe shortages in the health care workforce, I’m proud that we can deliver support to ease financial burdens for those who enter this critical field. Massachusetts remains committed to increasing residents’ access to timely and quality in-home health and community-based services by supporting the health and human services workforce.”

“Strengthening the health care workforce is key to making Massachusetts a great place to work and live,” said Lt. Governor Kimberley Driscoll. “We are proud to offer for this opportunity to financially support our health care workers, who in turn can continue to provide necessary and critical care to the people who call Massachusetts home.”  

“EOHHS is pleased to be able to offer loan repayment to hardworking home health and human service workers in Massachusetts,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh. “Building and sustaining a robust and well-trained in-home and community-based healthcare workforce is vital to supporting the health and quality of life of some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.”

“MassHealth is committed to ensuring members have access to quality in-home and community-based health care,” said Assistant Secretary for MassHealth Mike Levine. “This third round of loan repayments is an important way to expand our health care workforce, who do vital work in homes and communities across the Commonwealth.”

“Our early education providers, child care professionals and afterschool program educators are the workforce behind the workforce—making sure parents across the state can work, nurturing young students to learn and grow, and providing wraparound supports whole families benefit from,” said Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler. “I am grateful we are able to provide educational loan repayments to these critical staff at center-based early education, family child care and afterschool programs, helping professionalize the workforce, making higher education for the role more affordable and continuing our focus on retaining a high-quality early education and care workforce.”

Qualifying professionals include care coordinators, peer specialists, social workers, nurses, personal care attendants, certified nursing assistants, developmental specialists, educator assistants and family child care assistants, working in eligible settings. Loan repayment awards will range between $3,000 and $30,000 per individual depending on academic degree level attained and whether the individual works part- or full-time. 

In addition to the minimum eligibility requirements, applicants who meet one or more of the following criteria will be prioritized to receive an award: 

• Applicant can communicate with patients and provide care in a language other than English and that skill matches the needs of the site where they work.  
• Applicant can demonstrate through a short answer response, the ability to support access and delivery of services in a culturally competent manner to beneficiaries, including those with limited English proficiency, diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, and regardless of sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity).
• Applicant works or resides in a community prioritized in the COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Initiative: Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Randolph, Revere, Springfield, and Worcester.
• Applicant has worked in the direct care field for 3 or more years.

“The impact of home health and human services professionals providing accessible, flexible, and compassionate care to patients across the Commonwealth cannot be overstated. Supporting this spectrum of healthcare personnel allows us a unique opportunity to secure consistent quality care in underserved communities, advance health equity and hopefully shrink the life expectancy gap,” said Michael Curry, Esq., President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. “We are particularly proud to make a pointed effort of recruiting income-eligible applicants for this phase of MA Repay to support them in reducing the burden of student loan debt.”

Applications open January 29 and close on February 26 at 11:59 p.m. EST, or when applicants’ total requested award amount hits approximately twice the available award funding, whichever comes first. MA Repay is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act and funding appropriated by the legislature. Three additional rounds of this program will be made available in 2024.  

The first round of MA Repay was awarded in August 2023 and provided $140.9 million in student loan repayment awards to 2,935 primary care and behavioral health providers, and the second round that launched in September provides loan repayment to RNs and LPNS providing continuous skilled nursing care to MassHealth members and Department of Mental Health (DMH) direct care workers.

For information about how to apply, please visit: marepay.org.

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