Colorado Pays $2.6 Million To Health Care Professionals In Underserved Areas

The Colorado Health Service Corps awarded $2.6 million in student loan repayment to 50 health care professionals. In turn, the professionals will practice for the next three years in some of the state’s most medically underserved communities.

About a third will practice in rural towns, which often struggle to attract clinicians.

“We are able to address rural and frontier health workforce needs through this loan repayment program,” said Rich Marquez with the state health department.

Marquez says when primary care doctors, dentists and psychiatrists get out of school they may be saddled with $180,000 or more in debt.

They may be eligible to cut that debt in half through the program, which is funded through a mix of public and private funds.