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Higher Education Bill Contains Provisions for Medical Students, Residents

Provisions to ease the debt burden for medical students and residents were included in the higher education reauthorization bill passed by the US House of Representatives on Feb. 14, 2008.  

"The House passed a solid bill," said Andrew Fisher, Pennsylvania Medical Society Board Trustee and a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh. "It features direct assistance, systematic changes, and a first step towards understanding how a fear of debt guides medical specialty choices. That's a great combination.” 

The provisions—which the American Medical Association (AMA) helped secure—include:

• Federal loan forgiveness for physicians who serve in areas of need (up to $2,000 annually and up to $10,000 over five years of service)
• Disclosure requirements for private and federal lenders
A Government Accountability Office study of the impact of debt on medical school graduates 

"My peers across the country graduating with the class of 2008 will have median debt in excess of $140,000. My peers in Pennsylvania will pay even more than that,” Fisher said.  

“The commonwealth offers some tuition assistance at several of the medical programs for Pennsylvania residents, but the schools in Pennsylvania are generally considered to be private and have considerably higher tuition than public schools,” he added.  

In July 2007, the Senate passed its own version of the bill, which amends and reauthorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965. The two chambers will hold a conference to resolve their differences on the bill before sending it to the president. The Higher Education Act expires on March 31, 2008. 

The AMA also is working to reinstate legislation that allows physicians to defer repayment of loans until after they have completed their residency. Fisher said this legislation is vital because loan repayment can account for more than 25 percent of a resident’s salary. 

"Residency is when I and many of my peers hope to begin our families. If I were to delay starting a family until repayment became a manageable percentage of my income, I would be 33. For many of us, that is simply too long to delay anything as important as family,” he said.