Clasp, a job search and hiring tool tying student loan repayment to tenure, has launched a marketplace for clinicians-in-training and employers focused on loan-linked hiring.
Healthcare students can use the Clasp Marketplace to compare jobs by what each one pays toward their student loans, plus salaries. In order to post a job, an employer must commit money toward a student’s debt. Students can join as early as their first term, and the marketplace costs students nothing.
On the platform, students can browse job opportunities across their specialty, comparing employers, locations, salaries and loan repayment commitments. A loan calculator runs each commitment against a student’s real balance and turns various employer contributions into payoff timelines. Offers on the platform average over $68,000 and reach as high as $180,000.
Previously, Clasp would work with individual employers and students would go to that employer to see their opportunities. The marketplace takes a much broader lens, one that empowers students to compare national options side by side.
“This is about making this a movement, and not just about 1:1 placements of an employer to an individual,” Tess Michaels, founder and CEO of Clasp, told Fierce Healthcare in an advance interview. “Part of what we’re doing is really changing the way that individuals think about starting their career.”
While students are in school, Clasp also offers them study tips, budgeting tools and meet-and-greets with employers. Some employers offer additional support, like mental health tools, or invite students to conferences, clinical rotations or internships. Clasp also offers budgeting tools and loan guidance after students sign a commitment agreement. The company is looking to expand to student-published content and other peer support resources.
For employers, the nationwide marketplace offers a long-term recruiting pipeline that allows recruiting as early as 12 to 24 months before graduation. Custom employer pages show loan repayment, employee stories and other benefits in one place. Employers pay a fee for Clasp to administer the loan repayment, though it is free to be on the marketplace.
Clasp builds contractual accountability with employers. For example, employers may not reduce other types of benefits if they are offering loan relief. If an employer changes their mind about an offer after an agreement is signed, or if an employee is otherwise impacted by something not to do with their performance, they face penalty fees. These things benefit all parties involved, Michaels argues: “It’s allowing the individuals to more confidently commit without having a wandering eye. They feel more loyal to the employer.”
Clasp, founded in 2018, has pioneered loan-linked hiring to drive retention. The approach is intended to combat high clinician turnover within the first two years of a job. Turnover in primary care alone costs the system nearly $1 billion annually. Employers who commit money through Clasp then pay the loan servicer, federal or private, once a clinician is hired. Importantly, there are no clawbacks, so if a clinician leaves, what has been paid already stays paid. It’s a carrot, not a stick: “Your motivation to stay is high, but this is not meant to feel like handcuffs,” Michaels said.
The marketplace comes at a time of major controversial federal changes to student loan borrowing. Now, students can borrow less federal money, qualifying for less loan forgiveness, and must face challenges with private loans like needing a co-signer. The Department of Education has set borrowing limits of $20,500 a year and $100,000 total for graduate students, though those enrolling in a “professional” degree program have higher ceilings of $50,000 per year and $200,000 in aggregate. Provider groups oppose the changes, saying they could kneecap the clinical workforce pipeline.
This pressure is already being felt. One recent Clasp survey found over a quarter of nursing students have used a betting or prediction-market platform due to financial stress. Separately, Clasp has found that interest in loan repayment assistance far outweighs a sign-on bonus for a first job. To help people stay abreast of major policy changes, Clasp hosts webinars and offers educational content to students, schools and employers or recruiters. “We want to be that source of truth,” Michaels said.
Over the past several years, Clasp has seen a lot of migration nationally and willingness among students to move for jobs. The company claims to see retention rates over 2.5x higher than traditional hiring models. Available jobs grew over 207% in 2026, with employers committing over $200 million toward loans. Those using loan-linked hiring include Northwestern Medicine, Novant Health and UMass Memorial Health.