HCAI, DHCS outline Medi‑Cal Behavioral Health loan‑repayment program; applications open July 1

The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) on a webinar announced the Medi‑Cal Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program and said applications will open July 1, with an Aug. 15 deadline and award notifications expected in November, HCAI policy analyst Christian Jones said.

The program is part of BH Connect and uses federal approval through a Section 1115 demonstration waiver and related state plan amendments approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). HCAI told attendees the initiative aims to expand the behavioral‑health workforce in Medi‑Cal safety‑net settings by helping clinicians pay qualifying educational debt.

HCAI behavioral health and policy branch chief Sharmila Shah said the program is intended to “support and retain behavioral health providers, particularly in underserved and high‑need communities, by helping to reduce the burden of student loan debt.” The department also emphasized the program is one element of a larger BH Connect workforce initiative slated to invest up to $1,900,000,000 between 2025 and 2029.

Who is eligible and award amounts: HCAI and DHCS listed eligible professions and grouped maximum awards into three tiers based on licensure and prescribing authority. Christian Jones said licensed, prescribing practitioners (psychiatrists, psychiatric mental‑health nurse practitioners and similar) may be eligible for up to $240,000 in repayment. Licensed non‑prescribing clinicians and associate‑level prelicensure practitioners (clinical…