CMS Will Pay RNs and LPNs up to $50,000 to Work in Nursing Homes Under New $275M Program

Applications open Monday for a new federal program that will pay registered nurses and LPN/LVNs up to $40,000 in student loan repayment and up to a $10,000 incentive stipend, in exchange for a three-year commitment to work in a qualifying nursing home. A nurse who qualifies for both tops out at $50,000.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the $275 million Nurses for Nursing Homes initiative Friday, October 23. It is the latest version of the Nursing Home Staffing Campaign, which relaunched in February at $80 million under new CMS leadership after an initial 2025 version was not implemented. CMS is now contributing $100 million, with participating states putting up at least $175 million more. The agency expects the money to support more than 4,000 nurses across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Nurses who already started at an eligible nursing home between July 28 and October 25, 2026 are not shut out. During the first 90 days of the program, from October 26, 2026 through January 24, 2027, those recent hires can apply under an exception to the usual rule that applicants must not have worked in a nursing home for at least 60 days before opening an application. Payments for those early starters are prorated based on time already worked at the facility.

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To get paid under Nurses for Nursing Homes, an applicant must:

• Hold an active RN or LPN/LVN license when employment begins
• Work at least 30 hours per week at a qualifying nursing home
• Have qualifying nursing education debt to receive up to $40,000 in loan repayment. Nurses with eligible debt may also qualify for the $10,000 stipend regardless of when they graduated. Nurses without qualifying student loan debt can receive the stipend if they graduated within the past two years
• Commit to three years of service at a long-term care facility certified by Medicare, Medicaid, or both

• Not have worked in a nursing home or state nursing home inspection agency during the 60 days before opening an application account. Nurses who started at an eligible nursing home between July 28 and October 25, 2026 are exempt from this rule for the first 90 days of the program.

CMS says 100 percent of rural nursing facilities are eligible, along with additional facilities in higher labor-shortage areas.

CMS will distribute payments directly to participating nurses each quarter after verifying they worked an average of at least 30 hours per week. Nurses must put their loan-repayment payments toward qualifying educational debt. Both the loan repayment and stipend are taxable, with payments reported on Form 1099-NEC and no taxes withheld.

The federal share of the funding is not an appropriation. It is drawn from civil monetary penalties collected by CMS and the states from nursing homes for compliance failures. The money paying nurses to work in nursing homes is coming out of the fines paid by nursing homes that broke federal rules. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz described the structure as taxpayer-neutral in a statement accompanying the announcement.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said the initiative will “recruit and retain thousands of nurses” and expand care in rural and high-need communities.

The maximum benefit under Nurses for Nursing Homes is $50,000 over three years, or roughly $16,700 per year of service, before taxes. That is real money, but a lower maximum award than some other federal loan repayment options.

HRSA’s Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program repays 60 percent of qualifying nursing education debt for two years of service at a critical-shortage facility, with a possible additional 25 percent for a third year. Awards can exceed $100,000 for nurses with sufficiently large qualifying loan balances, though actual benefits depend on outstanding debt and program eligibility. The NHSC Rural LRP pays staff RNs up to $100,000 tax-free for three years at a rural substance use disorder treatment facility. Nurse Corps payments, unlike the Rural LRP, are taxable.

Nurses for Nursing Homes offers broader access within the long-term care sector, including eligibility for LPN/LVNs. Unlike Nurse Corps and the Rural LRP, which have their own facility and professional eligibility restrictions, the new program includes every qualifying rural nursing home nationwide, plus facilities in other high-shortage labor markets.

For a broader comparison of federal and state options, see our loan forgiveness guide.

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The three-year payment structure gives nurses a financial reason to stay, but it does not directly address the working conditions that contribute to turnover. Our 2026 State of Nursing Survey ranked geriatric nursing second-to-last of 25 specialties for job satisfaction, with just 31% satisfied. Nurses in the specialty highlighted unsafe staffing ratios and management failures among their concerns. The program can encourage nurses to enter long-term care and remain for the duration of their commitment. Whether it produces lasting retention beyond those three years is an unanswered question.

The program also arrives after the federal government abandoned its 2024 nursing home minimum staffing mandate. Federal courts struck down portions of the rule, Congress blocked implementation through 2034 as part of H.R. 1, and CMS formally repealed its staffing provisions effective February 2026. Nursing homes must still meet existing federal nursing coverage requirements, but there is no nationwide numerical minimum for nursing hours per resident. CMS is now pursuing recruitment incentives instead of the staffing ratios the previous administration sought to require.

The program also does not necessarily target the nursing homes with the worst staffing levels. CMS selected eligible facilities based primarily on geography and local nursing labor supply, not each facility’s staffing rating. The agency acknowledges that poor staffing can also result from facility budgeting and management decisions, problems that loan repayment incentives cannot directly correct.

Applications open Monday, October 26, 2026, at nursesfornursinghomes.cms.gov. Nursing students and nurses who have not yet secured qualifying employment can begin an application, but must meet the program’s licensure and employment requirements before receiving benefits.

Applicants must apply directly to participating nursing homes for available jobs. CMS will verify nursing licensure, qualifying employment, and student loan documentation before approving benefits. Nurses may transfer to another qualifying facility with CMS approval, but must start the new job within 90 days of leaving their previous facility. Payments are paused between jobs.

Applications are expected to remain available through 2027, but awards are first-come, first-served and depend on funding remaining in each state. CMS has published a full FAQ covering eligibility, payment schedules, taxes, and the three-year commitment.

This program is the latest in a series of CMS staffing incentive efforts, following a smaller predecessor announced in January 2025 and the $80 million relaunch earlier this year.

🤔 Would you take a 3-year commitment at a nursing home for up to $50K in loan repayment and stipends? Tell us why or why not in the comments below.