The Ohio Physician Loan Repayment Program, in Full
Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Ohio pays less per year than Pennsylvania and more in total, and asks for twice as long. Whether that trade is good depends almost entirely on how certain you are about staying.
What Ohio pays
| Full-time | Part-time | |
|---|---|---|
| Initial two-year contract | up to $25,000 / year | up to half |
| Years three and four | up to $35,000 / year | up to half |
| Two-year total | up to $50,000 | up to $25,000 |
| Four-year total | up to $120,000 | up to $50,000 |
The Department states plainly that payments are tax-exempt. That is a cleaner position than several states manage, and it is worth noting because it is the Department's own characterisation rather than something inferred.
How this compares with Pennsylvania
Worth seeing side by side, because the two programs are shaped differently rather than one simply paying better:
| Ohio OPLRP | Pennsylvania LRP | |
|---|---|---|
| Per year, full-time | $25,000, rising to $35,000 | effectively $40,000 |
| Initial commitment | Two years | Two years |
| Two-year total | up to $50,000 | up to $80,000 |
| Renewable? | ★ Yes, to four years | Not as published |
| Maximum total | ★ $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Final-year residents | ★ Eligible by statute | Must already be practising |
| Specialties | ★ Eight-plus | Six |
| Breach penalty | ★★ 3× or $7,500/month | Not published in the same terms |
Pennsylvania pays more over two years. Ohio pays more if you stay four, and takes a great deal more if you do not. The penalty.
How long is the commitment?
An initial contract is two years. Practitioners who meet all contractual obligations of the initial contract may renew for up to two additional one-year terms. The minimum commitment is two years and the maximum participation is four.
So the renewal is at your option but conditional on having performed, and the higher $35,000 rate only arrives in years three and four. The money is back-loaded, which is another way of saying the program is designed to keep you.
Who can apply?
ORC 3702.72 sets the gate, and it is statute rather than policy. A primary care physician who will not have an outstanding obligation for medical service to the federal government, a state or other entity at the time of participation, and who is either in the final year of an accredited board-certification program, in the final year of a fellowship, or holds a valid Ohio licence under ORC Chapter 4731.
Eligible specialties, from the Department's packet: Family Practice, General Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Geriatrics, and Psychiatry including general, child and adolescent, and geriatric. Full eligibility, including the site requirements.
★ What rules you out
The statutory bar is any outstanding service obligation. The Department's packet spells out what that catches, and the list is longer than most people expect:
- Loan repayment programs in other states
- NHSC Scholarship and Students to Service programs
- Ohio's MEDTAPP program
- The Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program
- Active military obligations
- Employment contracts that provide loan repayment or impose a service obligation
Any of these is disqualifying unless the obligation will be fulfilled before the Ohio contract begins. That last item is the one to check in your offer letter.
And separately: the packet notes that if you have defaulted on any student loan obligation, you may not be eligible.
How do you apply?
Electronically, by email to PCRH@odh.ohio.gov, with the application, an Employer Agreement, a Practice Site Summary and the supporting documents. The packet states that incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed.
★ We publish no deadline, because none appears in any document we can read. The Department's website returns an error to every automated tool, so the honest instruction is to email the Department and ask. Why that is.
The sentence that tells you how files are read
From the packet: "It is important to remember that service to medically underserved and vulnerable populations, not the repayment of educational loans, is the primary purpose of the OPLRP."
The Department also says it seeks physicians who demonstrate an interest in remaining in shortage areas beyond their service commitment. Read alongside the penalty clause, that is a consistent message about what the program is for.
And how it interacts with buying
Carefully. The award is real money and it is tax-exempt, but the penalty means the service contract is the harder of your two commitments to unwind. A physician loan does not require you to take loan repayment at all, so the house and the contract can be decided separately. Why that matters.
Call Mike at (480) 296-6513 and we will price the mortgage on its own terms.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Ohio Physician Loan Repayment Program?
A program administered by the Primary Care Office within the Ohio Department of Health under Ohio Revised Code section 3702.72, which repays qualifying educational loans for primary care physicians serving in Health Professional Shortage Areas or health resource shortage areas. Full-time participants may receive up to $25,000 a year for an initial two-year contract and up to $35,000 a year for a third and fourth year. Verified 2026-10-06.How long is the Ohio loan repayment commitment?
An initial contract is two years. Practitioners who meet all contractual obligations may renew for up to two additional one-year terms, so the minimum commitment is two years and the maximum participation is four years. The higher $35,000 annual rate applies only to years three and four. Verified 2026-10-06.Are Ohio loan repayment payments taxable?
The Ohio Department of Health's application packet states that payments are tax-exempt. We quote that as the Department's own statement rather than as tax advice, and we are lenders rather than tax advisers, so confirm your position with a tax professional. Verified 2026-10-06.What disqualifies you from Ohio physician loan repayment?
Any outstanding service obligation to a state or federal government, unless it will be fulfilled before the Ohio contract begins. The Department's list expressly includes other states' loan repayment programs, NHSC Scholarship and Students to Service, Ohio's MEDTAPP, the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program, active military obligations, and employment contracts that provide loan repayment or impose a service obligation. Having defaulted on any student loan obligation may also disqualify you.Does Ohio pay more than Pennsylvania for physician loan repayment?
Over two years, no: Pennsylvania pays up to $80,000 against Ohio's $50,000. Over four years, yes: Ohio renews to a maximum of $120,000 where Pennsylvania's published program is a single two-year award. Ohio also allows final-year residents and fellows to apply by statute and covers more specialties, but carries a breach penalty of three times the award or $7,500 per remaining month. Verified 2026-10-06.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or licensure advice. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees, and overlays are set by the lender and change. Ohio Physician Loan Repayment Program award amounts, eligibility, service terms and penalties are set by the Ohio Department of Health and change; the figures here carry the date we verified them against the Department's published application packet and the Ohio Revised Code, and ODH's own pages cannot be read by automated tools, so confirm your position with the Department. Ohio conveyance fees and county real property transfer taxes are set by statute and by county resolution and change. All loans are subject to borrower and property qualification, including credit and income review.