Pa. House passes med school loan bill

Medical students studying in Pennsylvania now have a greater incentive to stay in the state… Medical students studying in Pennsylvania now have a greater incentive to stay in the state after graduating. On June 27, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 1093. The legislation, which would forgive a doctor’s medical school loans if she stays in Pennsylvania for at least 10 years after graduation, passed by a vote of 191 to 9.

Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, proposed the legislation in order to help Pennsylvania retain doctors and replenish the ranks of existing doctors.

Our current system of doctors in Pennsylvania is like a veteran baseball team without a farm club. Forty-one percent of doctors in our state will retire within 10 years, and only 3 percent of our doctors are under 35. This problem is compounded by the fact that only 8 percent of medical students in Pennsylvania stay here after medical school,” Shapiro said.

Medical school loans can total upward of $100,000 and high debt among medical students can have several harmful effects. According to an American Medical Association survey, “students with high debt are less likely to pursue family practice, instead seeking more high-paying specialties. In addition, the high cost of tuition can discourage students from low-income backgrounds from attending medical school,” the survey found.

The bill had broad, bipartisan support in the House and will help communities across the state. The State Senate is expected to vote on the measure sometime in September and, if passed, the new law would take effect immediately. The program is expected to eventually cost approximately $20 million a year.

Former President of the Pennsylvania Medical Society Carol Rose applauds the bill for giving an incentive for doctors to stay in Pennsylvania.

“It is admirable that somebody is trying to do something to keep doctors in the state. Pennsylvania invests a great deal of money in training residents, and that investment is lost if they continue leaving the state to practice elsewhere,” Rose said.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average educational debt of a graduating medical student in the class of 2006 was $130,571, an 8.5 percent increase from the previous year.

While forgiving a medical student’s loans is a huge incentive for them to stay in Pennsylvania, the low rates of Medicare reimbursement in the state will still deter many from practicing here. The Pennsylvania Medical Society estimates that from 2006 to 2014, Pennsylvania Medicare payments will fall by an average of $18,000 per physician.

Rose points out that graduating medical students will have to choose between a state that offers them a free education and a state where they would earn considerably more money.

“In Pennsylvania, reimbursement for care is low compared to other states. Graduating students will have to compare the benefits of a free medical education with the disadvantages of low reimbursements and see which option will best suit them in the long run,” Rose said.

Shapiro realizes that this bill is not a panacea for the health-care problems in Pennsylvania. In addition to low reimbursements, high medical malpractice premiums, among the highest in the country, are a deterrent to many physicians from practicing in Pennsylvania.

“While this bill does not specifically address the issue of the malpractice insurance and other issues that our state’s health-care industry face, I believe that it is a step in the right direction. Ten years ago, over 50 percent of our medical school graduates stayed in Pennsylvania. Hopefully this bill will offer an incentive to more graduates to stay,” Shapiro said.