42 U.S.C. § 254p — Special loans for former Corps members to enter private practice

(a) Persons entitled; conditions: Using money appropriated under section 254k, the Secretary may make one loan to a Corps member who has agreed in writing (1) to work full-time in private clinical practice in a designated shortage area for at least 2 years — starting no later than 1 year after finishing any required obligated service (or, for someone with no obligated service, whenever the Secretary thinks appropriate); (2) to run that practice following the rules in section 254n(b)(1); and (3) to any other conditions the Secretary requires. The loan must be used to help cover the costs of starting the practice — including buying equipment, renovating facilities, and hiring nurses or other staff — but it cannot be used to buy or build a building. (b) Amount of loan; maximum interest rate: (1) The loan cannot exceed $25,000. (2) The interest rate cannot exceed 5 percent a year. (c) Application for loan; submission and approval; interest rates and repayment terms: The Secretary can't make a loan unless the person applied and the Secretary approved it. The Secretary must set interest rates and repayment terms for these loans by regulation. (d) Breach of agreement; notice; determination of liability: If the Secretary decides someone broke their agreement, the Secretary must notify them as soon as practical. If, 60 days after that notice, the person still isn't practicing as agreed and hasn't given the Secretary satisfactory assurance they won't violate the agreement again, the government can recover: (1) for someone who got a grant under this section as it existed before October 1, 1984, an amount figured with the same formula used in section 254o(b) — but using the grant amount plus what it would have earned as an interest-bearing loan for "ϕ," the number of months the person agreed to practice for "t," and the number of months they actually practiced for "s"; and (2) for someone who got a loan under this section, the full amount of principal and interest they owe.