Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Oregon offer state-funded student loan forgiveness for medical students, according to a database maintained by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The Biden administration on Aug. 24 released plans for up to $20,000 in student loan debt relief for individuals earning less than $125,000 a year. The announcement has shed more light on medical students' debt burden, with advocates calling on legislators to enact permanent solutions to address medical student debt and workforce challenges.
"We need solutions that encourage medical students and early career physicians to follow their hearts and career goals versus only following the money," Sterling Ransone Jr., MD, wrote for The Hill Aug. 27. "We need solutions that promote the health of each of our communities by making it easier for doctors to practice in underserved areas, and solutions that ensure our healthcare system is equitable for all."
The Association of American Medical Colleges database, which is updated annually, details state and federal programs available to medical and other healthcare profession students. Becker's also compiled a list of the 28 states offering student loan repayment programs.
Medical students graduated with an average of $203,062 in education debt in 2021, data from the association showed. An Aug. 24 analysis from WalletHub ranked Minnesota as the 15th state most burdened by student debt, Kansas as the 19th, Missouri as the 24th and Oregon as the 40th.
Here are the details on the programs in these four states offering loan forgiveness:
Kansas
Physicians engaging in full-time practice in rural communities for 36 continuous months are eligible for up to $26,000 in forgiveness as part of the state's Bridging Plan. The eligible specialties include: family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry and emergency medicine. The state funds 14 slots for primary care and three slots for psychiatry annually.
Minnesota
Minnesota offers two loan forgiveness programs for medical students. The first targets rural physicians practicing pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry or obstetrics/gynecology. Participants must serve a minimum of three years in a rural area to qualify for up to $29,000 in forgiveness. The second program follows the same guidelines but applies to urban physicians.
Missouri
Missouri offers a loan forgiveness program for students working as a primary care provider in an area of defined need. Under this program, if a student's number of loans exceeds five, 20 percent of the entire borrowed amount and interest is forgiven per year in exchange for service.
Oregon
Oregon offers a loan forgiveness program for primary care physicians. Participants are eligible for loans of up to $35,000 per year for tuition and fees in exchange for one year of service to an approved rural Oregon facility within 90 days of graduation.