Congress incentivizes nurse mentors in underserved areas with $2K tax credit
S. 131 — PRECEPT Nurses Act · Filed by Mark Kelly (D-AZ) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 16, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a $2,000 annual tax credit for registered nurses and healthcare providers who spend at least 200 hours per year mentoring nursing students or newly hired nurses in medically underserved areas. The credit runs through 2032 and requires certification from the academic institution or clinical employer to claim it.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a time-limited, geographically targeted tax credit designed to increase the supply of clinical nurse educators in health professional shortage areas. It is a straightforward public-health workforce policy, not a tax expenditure carve-out for a narrow industry.
What the text implies
- The credit's effectiveness depends on whether $2,000 annually is sufficient to offset the opportunity cost of preceptorship hours for nurses already working in shortage areas; if uptake is low, the public-health goal may not be achieved despite the tax expenditure.
- Certification requirements (from academic institutions or clinical sites) create administrative burden on schools and hospitals; compliance costs may be passed to institutions or students, potentially offsetting the credit's benefit.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Registered nurses and healthcare providers (individual tax filers); Nursing schools and academic institutions (indirect, via increased preceptor participation)