U.S. medical schools need to improve their tuition- and fee-setting processes to help students pay off their debts, the Association of American Medical Colleges concluded in a new study.
The future affordability of a U.S. medical education may be in jeopardy unless significant changes are made, particularly for lower-income applicants and applicants from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine, said the study, conducted by an AAMC working group.
The median indebtedness of medical school graduates has increased dramatically during the last 20 years—from $20,000 for both public and private schools in 1984, to almost $140,000 and $100,000 for private and public schools, respectively, last year. Although medical school tuition and fees have increased at rates far in excess of inflation, physician income at the same time has remained relatively flat, the study said.
To address rising tuition costs and student debt, the AAMC recommended that medical schools offer:
▸ Greater predictability about the student costs of a medical education.
▸ Ongoing financial education for medical students.
▸ More financial aid, with an emphasis on need-based scholarships and on programs offering loan repayment and forgiveness in exchange for service in the military or to underserved populations.
▸ Periodic self-reviews of their attendance costs.
Medical schools should also reevaluate their funding of medical education and develop innovative methods to generate financial support at the local, state, and national levels for financial aid programs that would address the nation's current health care needs, the AAMC recommended.
“It's essential that we find more creative ways for students to pay off their educational debt by providing health care services to our uninsured and underserved citizens,” said AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D.
The American Medical Association has offered some assistance in this area by awarding a total of $40,000 in grants to five medical schools to help medical students and patients care for patients in underserved communities.
The grants, part of the AMA's Reaching Equitable Access to Care for Health Program, will support health promotion and disease prevention projects in free clinics led by medical students. Grant recipients included schools in New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Chicago.