S. 4208 — Rural America Health Corps Act

This section establishes a five-year National Health Service Corps rural provider loan repayment demonstration program to make payments on the principal and interest of eligible loans (up to $200,000 total per individual) for providers eligible for—but not participating in—the existing National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSC LRP, which provides loan repayment to medical, dental, and behavioral health professionals serving in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs)). To participate, individuals must agree to five years of full-time service in a rural HPSA and comply with applicable NHSC LRP rules (except the standard service period), with payments of 1/5 of the loan principal and interest due annually and the remainder upon completing the fifth year. The section (1) specifies that partial service in good faith for paid years does not constitute breach; (2) applies other NHSC LRP administrative provisions; (3) directs that the demonstration program and participating providers not be considered when designating HPSAs under section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e) during FY2026-FY2030; (4) requires a report to Congress within five years of enactment evaluating the program's effects on rural health care access; and (5) authorizes $50 million annually for FY2027 through FY2031.