Thousands of nurses could receive up to $40,000 toward their student loans under a new federal initiative to address staffing shortages at nursing homes across the country. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday a $275 million initiative called Nurses for Nursing Homes, which will offer financial incentives to registered nurses and licensed practical or vocational nurses in exchange for three years of work at qualifying nursing homes. Eligible participants can receive up to $40,000 in student loan repayment and a $10,000 stipend, meaning some nurses could potentially receive as much as $50,000 in total financial support.
Kennedy, Jr in a statement. We are putting resources directly behind the nurses who care for our seniors and strengthening the quality, stability, and dignity of nursing home care across America.” The new program targets two problems: the financial burden facing some nurses who borrowed to pay for their education and persistent staffing challenges in the country's nursing homes. Under the new program, 100 percent of rural nursing facilities are eligible, along with additional facilities located in areas experiencing higher labor shortages.
Although nursing home employment has been recovering, the sector was still 26,500 workers below its pre-pandemic employment level as of December 2025. The American Health Care Association report, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, also said nursing homes added more than 40,700 workers during 2025. CMS is attempting to direct the new incentives specifically toward communities where recruitment is difficult, rather than making every nursing home equally eligible.
An eligibility list released by CMS included just under 9,300 nursing homes, roughly 63 percent of skilled nursing facilities nationwide, according to McKnight's Long-Term Care News. However, there is an exception during the program's first 90 days. Between October 26, 2026, and January 24, 2027, RNs and LPNs/LVNs who started working at an eligible nursing home between July 28 and October 25 may still qualify.
A limited number of state-agency nursing home inspector positions can qualify as well. Some question the Trump administration’s push to help current and future nurses battling student loan debt based on its prior exclusion of graduate nursing programs from what is considered a ‘professional degree.’ There is a massive nursing shortage causing significant stress across the industry, according to what I have heard from associates of nursing boards. The American Nurses Association and nursing education groups have pushed back against the rule, arguing that putting advanced nursing programs in the lower graduate-loan category could make programs for nurse practitioners and other advanced nursing careers harder to finance.
Nursing students can apply, but they won't start receiving the incentives simply by enrolling in nursing school. CMS said nursing students can open an account and begin their application before graduating. Before they can qualify for payments, however, they must graduate, obtain an active RN or LPN/LVN license, secure qualifying employment and satisfy the other program requirements.
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