Kaiser Permanente Student Loan Repayment Program – NUHW
Kaiser Permanente has established a scholarship program to assist NUHW [National Union of Healthcare Workers] members who have completed their Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctorate degree in the field of Mental/Behavioral Health.
Kaiser Permanente Student Loan Repayment Program – NUHW
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
New Application Process
Scholarship America has transitioned the Kaiser Permanente Student Loan Repayment Program to a new application platform. All applicants must complete a new profile before you will have access to the application. For profile questions related to gender and ethnicity, that information is not used to determine eligibility for this program. If you do not wish to disclose that information, you can choose to reply, “prefer not to answer”. If you have questions on how to complete the profile, please email kaiserloan@scholarshipamerica.org for assistance.
Eligibility
Applicants applying for loan repayments must meet all of the following criteria:
- Be a member of the NUHW Integrated Behavior Health Services bargaining unit in Northern California or NUHW Psych-Social bargaining unit in Southern California at Kaiser Permanente.
- Be an employee with at least 1 year of service with Kaiser Permanente as of December 31, 2025.
- Be an active KP employee and scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week.
- Be a graduate of an accredited Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate level education program in Mental/Behavioral Health professions.
- Have an existing federal or private college loan for a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate degree in the field of Mental/Behavioral Health. (Loans must have had a balance on January 1, 2025.)
Awards
Graduates of accredited education programs can receive repayment for qualified loans related to education in Mental/Behavioral Health Professions in the following amounts:
- Accredited Bachelor’s or Master’s level programs – Up to $2,500 a year with a $10,000 lifetime total
- Accredited Doctorate level programs – Up to $5,000 a year with a $20,000 lifetime total
The maximum lifetime payment is $30,000 for an employee who has qualifying loans for a Bachelor’s or Master’s AND a Doctorate program.
Checks will be made payable to the loan servicer and sent to the employees home address in one installment. It is recommended that once you receive the check, to write your loan account number on the check before you forward it to the loan servicer. Checks will be made payable to the employees directly, if there is a current loan balance less than $2,500 for a bachelors or master’s degree or less than $5,000 for a doctorate degree, or if the employees loans were forgiven after January 1, 2025.
Loan repayment may be considered taxable income by the IRS.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in June.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes loan repayment checks on behalf of Kaiser Permanente. Payments are scheduled to be released in August, or as soon as the funds have been received.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A final transcript or diploma that shows school name, student name, degree type, major, and graduation date. (Please check that your document includes all necessary information.)
- One or more loan documents that show loan servicer name, borrower name, account number, original loan disbursement date, balance on January 1, 2025, and current balance. (PDF documents/statements are preferred. Please check that your documents include all necessary information. View these samples (FedLoanSample and NelnetSample) for examples of acceptable loan documents.)
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
Frequently Asked Questions
