Information about state support for health professions education and for students attending health professions schools is presented, based on a request by the Senate Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research. The Subcommittee will be considering legislation, during the 96th Congress, to extend and modify Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act, which authorize federal programs affecting the training and deployment of health personnel. State financial aid to selected health professions education from 1975 through 1980 is assessed, including three separate fiscal periods, and the relationship between federal capitation, state institutional aid, and tuition revenues is explored. Based on a survey of the states and site visits, information is also presented on state scholarships and loans, and on growth and changes in states' efforts to tie student financial assistance to future service payback principally in underserved communities. Trends in state commitments to the following health professions are analyzed: medicine; osteopathy; dentistry; optometry; pharmacy; podiatry; veterinary medicine; and diploma, associate-level, and baccalaureate-level nursing. Appended materials include: state financial aid program descriptions and statistical data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia; information on the health professions federal student assistant programs, 1979-80; and a description of the study methodology. (SW)