Medical Students, Residents Lobbying State to Address Rising Cost of Student Loans
| Date: April 7, 2008 |
Media Contact: |
Chuck Moran |
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Pennsylvania Medical Society |
| For Immediate Release |
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(717) 558-7820 |
(Harrisburg, Pa.) The high cost of a medical education is a huge barrier to becoming a doctor, say medical student and resident leaders, and, to address the issue, they’re taking to the halls of the state capitol to ask the legislature to find a solution.
Medical students, fellows, and residents from throughout the state will meet with key legislative leaders and their staffs on April 8. In addition, the group will join Representative Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery) in a news conference at 10 a.m. to raise awareness of House Bill 1093, a bill that would create the Physician Retention Loan Forgiveness Program.
"Medical school debt is a real hindrance to the profession,” said Michael Best, a student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Camp Hill native, explaining that a student can complete medical school with $120,000 or more in loans. “Unfortunately, the long road to becoming a doctor involves a huge amount of debt. I plan to join the Air Force for its scholarship assistance, but that commitment could take me out of Pennsylvania for many years.”
According to Peter Lund, MD, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and founder of its Institute for Good Medicine, at a time when many are predicting a national physician shortage, now would be a good time for our legislature to invest in the future of Pennsylvania health care by making it more financially reasonable for Pennsylvania students to become physicians.
“I’m worried about the future of health care and who will be taking care of patients 10, 20, and 30 years down the road,” he said, explaining that Pennsylvania ranks 38th in the country for percentage of high school graduates who eventually attend medical school. “Nationally, health care supply is not keeping up with demand, and in a state with an older population that has greater health care needs, that’s not a good thing.”
Diana Wallace, MD, currently a medical resident in Bethlehem, has experienced tight budgets as a medical student, but says it continues to be financially tough as a doctor-in-training.
“Residents work long hours for lower pay and the student loans that I have are greater than a mortgage on a house,” she said. “With my student loan debt approaching a half million dollars, assistance with debt relief would be an incentive for people like me to give Pennsylvania greater consideration.”
The news conference will be held in the Capitol Media Center.
The Medical Students, Fellows, and Residents Advocacy Day is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Medical Society.
The patient-doctor relationship has been the priority of the Pennsylvania Medical Society since its founding in 1848. The Medical Society listens to concerns of both patients and doctors to improve the delivery of health care services. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit the web site at www.pamedsoc.org or its consumer website at www.myfamilywellness.org.
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Last Updated: 8/13/2008