New physicians are increasingly enrolling in the federal government's Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Established in 2007, the program is designed for public sector and nonprofit enterprise employees to have their student loans forgiven. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the program forgives the remaining balance on direct loans after the individual makes 120 monthly payments under a repayment plan while working full-time.
A survey of all graduating medical school students across the U.S. conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges showed 25 percent of physicians who graduated from medical school in 2014 intended to use the program, up from 10.6 percent in 2010, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a study published in June by the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
The study determined that on average, each graduate would get roughly $131,000 of their student debt forgiven, in 2024, the report states. The federal government estimates it will forgive more than $316 million in debt for 2014 medical school graduates.