SHM Urges Protection of Essential Student Aid Programs for Future Physicians

Download Electronic Transmittion

The Honorable John Thune
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
House Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Bill Cassidy, MD
Chair
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Bernie Sanders
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Tim Walberg
Chair
House Committee on Education & Workforce
Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Bobby Scott
Ranking Member
House Committee on Education & Workforce
Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Majority Leader Thune, Speaker Johnson, Leader Schumer, Leader Jeffries, Chair Cassidy, Ranking Member Sanders, Chair Walberg, and Ranking Member Scott:

On behalf of the undersigned organizations who represent medical students, residents, practicing physicians, hospitals, and medical schools urge you to protect financial aid programs that improve access to medical education and are essential to bolstering the future physician workforce. We are concerned about proposals within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that seek to eliminate the Grad PLUS program, impose new aggregate limits on Direct Loan borrowing, and limit eligibility to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, particularly for physician residents.

We urge Congress to maintain the Grad PLUS program and protect full access to Unsubsidized Direct Loan borrowing, including the $224,000 cap for health professions students. Federal lending to aspiring physicians expands access and boosts the health care workforce. Physicians are very reliable borrowers who pay back their student loans, as evidenced by their extremely low default rates. Eliminating Grad PLUS or restricting aggregate lending will disadvantage the more than 40% of all medical students who use the programs because they may no longer be able to afford medical school if required to borrow from the private loan market. This may worsen the physician workforce shortage by reducing access to medical school for students, and therefore restricting the supply of health care providers in every community. While we are sure that exacerbating the physician shortage is not an intended result, we do have to bring to your atention the unintended consequences of eliminating these vital financial programs.

We also urge you to maintain current eligibility requirements for the PSLF program, especially for medical school residents. Physicians who participate in PSLF are essential health care providers in rural and urban medically underserved communities. More than 55% of medical school graduates plan to work in public service jobs, including as physicians in nonprofit hospitals, public health departments, and community clinics in rural areas. A total of 99.4% of graduating students indicate an intention to practice medicine. Eliminating incentives for physicians who intend to serve in these setings to promote the public interest would limit the availability of high-quality care for patients and communities who need it most. The country continues to face shortages of physicians in communities nationwide. Therefore, we call on Congress to ensure that any forthcoming legislation does not threaten access to medical education or exacerbate the physician workforce shortage by eliminating the Grad PLUS program, imposing limits on borrowing, or limiting eligibility for the PSLF program. We urge you to maintain and enhance these essential loan and forgiveness programs to improve the health of people everywhere.

cc: The Honorable Virginia Foxx, Chair of House Commitee on Rules, The Honorable Richie Neal, Ranking Member of House Commitee on Rules

On behalf of:

Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM)
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
American Board of Medical Specialties
American College of Academic Addiction Medicine
American College of Cardiology
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP)
American College of Osteopathic Internists
American College of Physicians
American College of Surgeons
American Gastroenterological Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
American Urological Association
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of Departments of Family Medicine
Medical Group Management Association
North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG)
National Rural Health Association
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Society of Hospital Medicine
Society of Interventional Radiology
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons