Oregon Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

Oregon offers student loan repayment assistance programs aimed at health care workers who serve underserved patients. The Health Care Provider and Behavioral Health loan repayment programs matter most, paying 70% of your balance up to $50,000 a year, with applications due January 11, 2027. Public interest lawyers have a separate bar program, but teachers and most other workers have no state option and should start with federal forgiveness programs.

Oregon Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program

The Legislature created the Health Care Provider Incentive Program in 2017 (HB 3261), and its loan repayment arm is run by the Oregon Office of Rural Health (ORH) at OHSU in partnership with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Full-time providers receive 70% of their qualifying loan balance, up to $50,000 per service year, for at least three years, and ORH describes the payments as tax-free (ORH). Our health care forgiveness roundup covers federal programs you can compare it with.

Oregon Behavioral Health Loan Repayment Program

This ORH program uses the same 70% formula and $50,000 annual cap but is built for behavioral health workers, including pre-licensed clinicians and bachelor's-level staff (ORH). QMHAs and QMHPs can apply along with licensed clinicians, and community mental health staff can pair it with the PSLF rules for medical workers.

Oregon Partnership State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)

Oregon's SLRP combines a federal HRSA grant with Oregon Health Authority matching funds and pays up to $75,000 over two years to full-time physical health providers, or $50,000 to dental and behavioral health providers (ORH). Current funding doesn't require a site match, and awards are capped at half your qualifying debt, so compare it with the federal options in our student loan forgiveness for doctors breakdown.

Oregon State Bar Loan Repayment Assistance Program

The Oregon State Bar lends public service lawyers up to $7,500 a year for up to three consecutive years and forgives each year's loan once you've stayed in qualifying work and paid at least that much toward your student loans (Oregon State Bar). The income cap is now $100,000 at application, and our PSLF breakdown covers the federal program most of these lawyers should also use.

Primary Care Loan Forgiveness

Primary Care Loan Forgiveness funds students in approved rural training tracks, covering up to full tuition and fees capped at the highest resident rate at Oregon's public health professional programs (ORH). Recipients owe one year of service per year of funding and must sign with an approved practice site within 90 days of graduating (OHA), and our medical school student loan roundup covers how to borrow the rest.

Scholars For A Healthy Oregon Initiative (SHOI)

SHOI covers full tuition and fees for a limited number of Oregon-resident OHSU students in medicine, dentistry, physician associate studies, and select nurse practitioner programs (OHSU). You owe one year of service in a rural or underserved Oregon community for each year funded, plus one more, and our graduate school loan forgiveness breakdown covers what's left if you borrow for living costs.

Oregon bases its income tax on federal taxable income and automatically updates for changes in federal law, so it follows federal treatment of student loan forgiveness (The College Investor). PSLF, Teacher Loan Forgiveness, and death and disability discharges stay tax-free at both levels.

Forgiveness under income-driven plans became federally taxable again on January 1, 2026, when the American Rescue Plan exclusion expired, and Oregon follows that treatment (Taxes And Student Loan Forgiveness). Borrowers expecting IBR or RAP forgiveness can estimate the bill with our student loan tax bomb calculator.

The Office of Rural Health describes Health Care Provider Loan Repayment awards as tax-free (ORH). For other Oregon awards, ask the administering agency how the payment will be reported, and read our explainer on the 1099-C and student loan forgiveness before filing.

Does Oregon Have A Student Loan Forgiveness Program?

Oregon offers student loan repayment assistance programs rather than broad loan forgiveness. It runs six service-based programs for health care providers, behavioral health workers, public interest lawyers, and health professions students. Borrowers outside those fields rely on federal programs like PSLF and income-driven plan forgiveness.

What Is The Oregon Health Care Provider Incentive Program?

It's the umbrella the Legislature created in 2017 for Oregon's health workforce incentives, including loan repayment, Primary Care Loan Forgiveness, SHOI, and a rural malpractice insurance subsidy (OHA). The loan repayment pieces now run through the Oregon Office of Rural Health, and our nursing and health care forgiveness roundup covers the federal programs that sit alongside them.

Does Oregon Have Student Loan Forgiveness For Teachers?

Oregon has no state loan repayment program for teachers, and the Oregon Teacher Scholars Program is a grant for students in licensure programs rather than loan help (Oregon Student Aid). Teachers should look at federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF, covered in our teacher forgiveness breakdown.

Can Oregon Lawyers Get Help Repaying Student Loans?

Public defenders, deputy district attorneys, and legal aid lawyers earning $100,000 or less can get up to $7,500 a year for three years through the Oregon State Bar LRAP (Oregon State Bar). Most of those jobs also qualify for PSLF, which forgives the remaining balance after 120 payments.

Is Student Loan Forgiveness Taxable In Oregon?

Oregon follows federal treatment, so PSLF and Teacher Loan Forgiveness are tax-free while income-driven plan forgiveness granted after 2025 is taxable (The College Investor). Use our tax bomb calculator to estimate what you'd owe.