Rad Tech Student Loan Forgiveness: Programs Your Employees Should Know About

I had a conversation last month with Marcus, an MRI technologist who's been with his hospital for six years. He mentioned in passing that he had about $110,000 in student loans from his bachelor's degree and radiography program, and he was just making minimum payments while hoping to eventually pay them down.

I asked him if he was enrolled in PSLF—Public Service Loan Forgiveness. He looked at me blankly. Had never heard of it.

That conversation bothered me for days. Marcus was potentially eligible to have a significant portion of those loans forgiven, was working for a qualifying employer, and simply didn't know the program existed. Multiply that by the thousands of rad techs across the country, and we're talking about billions of dollars in foregone forgiveness.

This is actually something employers need to care about too. Loan forgiveness programs can be part of your recruitment and retention strategy. And honestly, helping your employees navigate these programs is one of the highest-ROI employee benefits you can offer.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Let me start with the biggest opportunity: Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This is a federal program that forgives the remaining balance on federal direct loans after 120 qualifying payments (10 years) of income-driven repayment for employees working in public service.

Here's what makes it relevant for rad techs: if you work for a nonprofit hospital, a public hospital system, a government health facility, or a Veterans hospital, you're likely eligible.

The Reality of PSLF: When PSLF launched in 2007, it was supposed to be the holy grail of healthcare worker loan relief. The reality has been messier. The program had administrative issues, documentation problems, and thousands of people thought they were on track to forgiveness only to find out they weren't. It's improved significantly in recent years, but it requires careful attention to detail.

How It Actually Works:

You need federal direct loans (not FFEL loans or private loans). If you have FFEL loans, you might need to consolidate them into direct consolidation loans—this is important because consolidation essentially resets your payment count, which is why so many people missed out.

You need to work for a qualifying employer. Most hospitals qualify, but some don't. Religious nonprofit hospitals sometimes have tricky status. For-profit hospital chains don't qualify. Government agencies, military, VA facilities, and most nonprofits do.

You need to be on an income-driven repayment plan (PAYE, REPAYE, IBR, or ICR). Standard 10-year repayment doesn't count toward PSLF.

You need 120 qualifying payments. These need to be on-time, made under a qualifying repayment plan, for a qualifying amount. Here's where it gets finicky: partial payments don't count. Payments made during a deferment or forbearance don't count. You truly need 120 substantive payments.

The Numbers: Let's say you graduate with $60,000 in federal direct loans (not uncommon for a radiography program plus bachelor's degree). You work for a nonprofit hospital and enroll in REPAYE (Revised Pay As You Earn), which calculates your payment based on income.

If you're making $55,000 annually and are single, your REPAYE payment might be around $200/month. After 120 payments, your remaining balance could be $30,000-$50,000, depending on how much your income increased over the decade. That gets forgiven.

Is that powerful? Absolutely. You're getting $30,000-$50,000 of debt relief.

Common Mistakes: The biggest mistake is not consolidating FFEL loans or Perkins loans into direct consolidation loans. The second biggest is not staying on an income-driven repayment plan. The third is not certifying your employer annually through the federal student aid system—you need documentation that you're still working for a qualifying employer.

I coach techs through PSLF, and I always recommend they:

1. Verify their loan type is eligible (Direct Loans only)
2. Confirm their employer is PSLF-qualifying (check the Federal Student Aid website's employer search tool)
3. Consolidate any non-direct loans immediately
4. Enroll in an income-driven repayment plan
5. File annual employment certification forms
6. Make payments on time consistently

State-Specific Loan Forgiveness Programs

This is where it gets interesting because nearly every state has some version of loan forgiveness or repayment assistance for healthcare workers, and many specifically include rad techs.

Examples of State Programs:

Louisiana: Offers loan forgiveness up to $20,000 for health professionals (including rad techs) who work in underserved areas for three years.

Texas: The Health Professions Loan Assistance Program provides repayment assistance for various healthcare workers, including imaging technologists, who commit to working in designated shortage areas.

New York: The Healthcare Professional Loan Assistance Program offers up to $25,000 in repayment assistance for healthcare workers in high-need areas.

Tennessee: The Loan Assistance Program provides up to $14,500 in annual assistance for health professionals working in rural or underserved communities.

Massachusetts: The Health Care Workforce Retention Bonus provides loan repayment assistance for healthcare workers.

Many states also have tuition reimbursement programs through their workforce development agencies, separate from loan forgiveness, which can help with ongoing education debt.

The challenge with state programs is that they're often under-publicized and have specific requirements around geography (many require rural placement) or employer type. But if you're willing to work in a high-need area, they can be substantial.

HRSA Programs

The Health Resources and Services Administration (part of HHS) administers several loan repayment programs for healthcare workers in shortage areas. These are federal programs but somewhat less well-known than PSLF.

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program and similar offerings specifically include medical and imaging technologists. These programs typically offer:

• $10,000-$30,000 in annual loan repayment assistance
• Two-year initial service commitment (with options to extend)
• Eligibility for rad techs working in designated shortage areas
• Both rural and urban placements available

To participate, you generally need to work for NHSC-designated sites, which include federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and certain nonprofit and public facilities in designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).

Employer Tuition Reimbursement and Loan Repayment Programs

Here's the thing: employers can also directly assist with student loans, and many don't use this as a recruitment or retention tool effectively.

Under current tax law (as of 2026), employers can provide up to $5,250 annually in tax-free education assistance, including student loan repayment. That means an employer could contribute $5,250 per year per employee toward student loans, and it's not taxable income to the employee.

Some healthcare systems I'm aware of are using this strategically:

• A major hospital network in California offers $10,000 annually in loan assistance for rad techs who commit to three-year employment
• A nonprofit health system in Ohio provides matching contributions—for every dollar an employee puts toward loans, they contribute $0.50, up to $5,000 annually
• Several staffing networks offer loan repayment assistance as part of sign-on bonuses

For employers, this is genuinely smart: it costs less than replacing an employee, it attracts quality candidates, and it resonates with younger workers who are likely carrying significant education debt.

The Reality Check: Common Mistakes I See

After coaching dozens of rad techs through loan forgiveness applications, here are the mistakes that appear most often:

Assumption that all loans are eligible: You absolutely cannot use PSLF for private loans or parent PLUS loans. Many people don't realize this and waste years making payments that won't count.

Not consolidating when necessary: If you have any FFEL loans or Perkins loans, you must consolidate them into direct consolidation loans for PSLF eligibility. This single step has freed up thousands of dollars for people.

Ignoring state programs because they require rural placement: If you're willing to work in a rural or underserved area for 2-3 years, the loan forgiveness can be substantial. That's not forever; it's a strategic career move that leaves you with less debt.

Not submitting employer certification for PSLF: You can make 120 payments and have everything in order, but if you haven't submitted employer certification forms annually, your loan servicer might not have documentation that you were working for a qualifying employer. This has caused real problems.

Choosing the wrong income-driven repayment plan: PAYE and REPAYE have different formulas and different forgiveness provisions (for non-PSLF forgiveness). Which one is better depends on your specific situation—marital status, spousal income if applicable, family size. Getting this wrong might mean slightly higher payments now, but it affects what gets forgiven in 20-25 years.

What Employers Should Be Doing

If you're a manager or HR leader reading this, here's what I'd recommend:

1. Identify PSLF-eligible staff: Do a survey to see how many of your employees have federal student loans and are potentially PSLF-eligible.

2. Provide clear information: Either host a webinar on PSLF and state programs, or contract with someone like me to help your staff understand options. Bad information is worse than no information.

3. Establish an employer assistance program: Even modest ($2,500-$5,000 annually) contributions to employee loan repayment demonstrate that you value financial wellness and can help with recruitment.

4. Have annual conversations: Make student loan status and forgiveness planning part of annual career development conversations with your rad techs. It shows you care about their long-term financial health.

5. Connect people to resources: The studentaid.gov website has loan consolidation tools, employer verification for PSLF, and state program databases. Point people toward these.

The Bottom Line

Student loan debt is real, and for many rad techs, it's a significant financial burden. But there are legitimate, substantial programs available to help. The problem isn't lack of opportunity—it's lack of awareness.

If you're a radiology technologist with federal student loans working for a nonprofit or public hospital, you should be investigating PSLF. If you're open to working in a high-need area, state and federal programs could forgive tens of thousands of dollars.

And if you're an employer, helping your rad techs navigate these programs is one of the highest-leverage things you can do for retention. Loan forgiveness can save an employee tens of thousands of dollars—that's powerful motivation to stay.

Start with one conversation, one piece of research, one application. Your future financial health will thank you.